A Conduit, a Cop, and their Conciliator
by nowhatdidyousaydude
Summary: Follow Nita Otoe, Salmon Bay resident, as she proves herself to be somewhat brave, fiercely loyal, and not that great at following orders (if it's Reggie giving them).
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from 'Infamous Second Son' pls dont sue

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1...

Akomish Days Festival in the Longhouse. It was tradition, though that didn't make the music any less loud and interfering, or the outfits just as ridiculous. Really, it was the the older Akomish - the men and women of years and years ago where dressing to be proud of your tribe was an often occurrence. For the rest of us (the people under the age of 55) it meant being praised just for being Akomish. And also free-ish beer, as long as you kept watch of who left their bottle unattended.

I had been watching careful. Billy had just finished talking to his brother-in-law, Mr. Chats A lot. He put his arm around his shoulder, pulling Billy to face completely away from his ice-cold bottle of beer. I reached out for it and -

"Nita Otoe."

My arm shrunk back into my body as I turned on my heel, wide smile displayed for the brand new Sheriff. "Sheriff Rowe." My smile turned genuine when I saw the displeased look on his face - the one that always seemed to be there. "Why the long face? You should be celebrating." I spun around to see Billy gone and the beer all by its lonesome. I wrapped my hand around it, holding it out to Reggie. "You shouldn't be empty-handed."

His straight mouth curved at the end, grabbing the beer from my hand. "You were grabbing it for me, huh?" He stood closer to me, his tall frame towering over me. The closer he got, the taller he got, so I took a subtle step back.

"Of course," I answered, seeming quite sure of myself.

I had nothing to hide. I was legally allowed to drink, especially while Akomish Days were on, but Reggie always had a displeasure for alcohol. Not for himself - Reggie loved a cold beer. He just seemed like he'd rather not sit back and watch me sip on a beer. Me _and_ his brother.

Reggie was unlucky that way. He tried to keep Delsin and me out of trouble. Unfortunately, Delsin was nothing but trouble. I, on the other hand, was an absolute angel.

I leaned back, knowing the counter would be there to catch me. I glanced around for the eightieth time, eyes finding Reggie once again. "Have you seen Delsin?"

His lips tightened for just a moment and then he shook his head in disapproval. "Caught him spray painting my billboard."

Reggie had an incredibly cheesy 'Congrats, Sheriff' billboard right in the middle of town. It was the only one we had on our reservation, and it was nice to have something on it, but it featured a smiling Reggie, which was very uncharacteristic of the man. Everyone on the reservation was so proud of him. I was proud of him, but it was still painful, and quite hilarious to look at.

"He dipped into the cannery and I lost him. I don't know where he is now." His whole body was tense. He always was. I forgot was that when we were kids he used to be the fun one out of the three of us. He used to egg us on. He wasn't always the saint. But Delsin had always, _always _been the sinner.

I was sure that when Delsin disappeared into the cannery that Betty had helped him out. She always said, "It's the last time!" but it never was. She was an enabler, and bless her kind soul for it. She loved Delsin and Reggie, but she understood Delsin a way no one did - in the way Reggie didn't understand Delsin. The two of them had handled their parents' death very differently. Betty tried her best to be there for them. Delsin needed her more, so she helped him in every way she could. Now she couldn't stop.

I thought about Delsin and his habit of graffiti. I didn't want to ask, but I couldn't help myself. I didn't want to rub salt in the wound, but I was too curious. I tried to soften the blow first. "Oh, man, that sucks." Real sympathetic. And then I bit my lip, letting that settle for a second before asking, "So what did he spray paint? Was it like a classic moustache and glasses thing?"

Reggie shook his head. "Why?" He moved his hand, pointing the tip of the beer bottle at me accusingly. "Why are you always on his side?"

I had to laugh, as all I could offer was that and a shrug. "I'm not on his side, Reg, I just - you know, I -" I struggled to find the right words, just like I struggled to keep the smile off my face. I looked up at his stern face, smiling even wider. "You gotta admit it's funny."

"Vandalism is not funny!"

I knew he wasn't joking and that he was completely serious, but the loud laughter that escaped my mouth then was unstoppable. I reached out for him, sliding an arm around his torso for comfort. "I know it's not, Reggie. I didn't mean it." I absolutely meant it, but if it was going to make Reggie feel better, I'd pretend to take it back.

He put his arm over my shoulders, looking down at me with a satisfied look. It made me worry a little when I saw that. And then I started to worry a lot when he took a step forward. His arm slid down to rest on my back, pushing with a firm hand, walking us toward the door. "Come on, then. Since you're all about justice now, you're gonna help me find Delsin."

I gripped his jacket in my fist, letting my arm hang loose. I wouldn't mind going for a walk. "You know I'm an expert on finding your brother." I pushed the door open with a strong hand, letting the door swing open into someone's face - Delsin's face.

"Hey, man." Delsin had an astonished look on his face, played down by a pair of very nervous eyes. "I've been lookin' like...forever for you. We should probably just -"

Just like that, Reggie separated from me, his big hand latching onto Delsin's arm, yanking him away from the Longhouse. Delsin didn't resist, letting Reggie walked him a couple feet away, to the side of the Longhouse.

"Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is for me to keep arresting my brother over and over and over again?"

Delsin finally shook him off, adapting to a slight angered tone to match Reggie's. "Maybe you should stop arresting your brother over and over and over again."

Reggie's brows furrowed, now raising his voice. "You think this is a joke?"

I crossed my arms over my chest, allowing myself to rest against the railing of the deck. I looked out at the ocean. The salt in the air was fresh and the sun was beating down on us just before it was to disappear behind the waves in the distance. Seagulls were squawking in the sky. And two more squawking a couple feet from me.

"You're trying to assert your talent? I mean what the hell -"

"Why do you always do this, Reggie? Why -"

"Are you even talking about. No, explain to -"

"Won't you just let me be who I am? If you would listen -"

"To me! What big, bad scary shit are you gonna save us from?"

"If you would listen, I would explain it to you!"

"Really? Because I don't seem to get it!"

The conversation started to turn into something I had heard a million times before; Delsin wanted to make his mark on the world. Reggie was upset that his mark-making seemed to be only graffiti. It was hard for Reggie to get it. He was fine with his life. He was a big fish in a little pond, and he liked it that way. Delsin didn't want that. He wanted to feel bigger than himself in the mostly small, sort of suffocating Salmon Bay. I knew Delsin loved the reservation, but it wasn't enough for him. He wasn't able to do anything here, while Reggie was able to do everything.

"That's enough." I pushed myself from the railing, hands swinging at my side as I walked over to them, watching Reggie start to pace a little bit. I stood next to Delsin, putting a comforting hand on his back as I appealed to Reggie. "Reggie, come on -"

He wouldn't listen.

"Reggie." Delsin took a step forward, reaching back to grab a hold of my wrist. He was holding it tightly, looking a little ways up the road from where we were.

"What?" Reggie snapped to Delsin, stopping his moment of anger to follow Delsin's eyes.

"Truck."

I looked up, feeling fingers tighten around my wrist as the burly, military-resembling truck sped down the road in a fast, but lazy manner. The tires followed the curve of the road, rather than the steering wheel. It was obvious when it side-swiped a parked car that no one was driving it. The impact of it hitting the car made the truck tip and slam into the pavement, squealing until it came to a halt.

All of us collectively took a step or two back, Reggie's arm coming out protectively over Delsin and me.

It was hard to see with the one headlight our way, as well as the small set next to the truck that clouded our vision, but it looked as if two orange jumpsuits stood and then scrambled as fast as they could away from the scene.

Reggie didn't hesitate. That was the one thing about Reggie that I never could decipher as bravery or stupidity - his ability to never hesitate. "I'm going after those two!" He started to run fast, saying to the two of us, "You both stay back, that thing's gonna blow."

"Stay away from the exploding thing." Delsin's face was lit up by the fire in front of us. "Got it."

I stared in shock and awe. What had I just watched? And what was there to do now? My eyes were drawn to an orange blur near the truck. It was moving. My instinct was to reach for Delsin, so I did. "Del."

He looked at me first with concern, fully prepared to ask if I was all right and then offer to walk me back inside. His brows furrowed when he really looked at me. I'm sure I looked like I was scared, and maybe sort of curious. He followed my nod to the orange blur. "Oh."

He started to walk, but I grabbed him by the jean jacket. "No," I said quickly and almost quietly. I glanced nervously at the orange person, wondering if it was worth going over there. I knew what an orange jumpsuit meant. I found myself conflicted. "Maybe it's not safe."

Delsin nodded, taking that as me telling him to go check it out. He patted my shoulder with a heavy hand, almost smiling a little when he said, "I'll go check it out."

It was awful what had just happened. Why did Delsin look almost excited? To be the most honest, I couldn't say I was shocked to see him that way. The fact that something crazy was happening on the reserve was probably what Delsin had been dreaming of the past twenty-four years.

It was dumb, but I wasn't about to let him go over there alone.

Delsin didn't say anything when I stood next to him and helped him lift a shard of broken truck off of the orange blur. The orang blur stood, revealing himself to be tall man with a buzzcut and more tattoos than skin. He didn't look too old, but he looked tired. The orange scared me immensely, but he leaned on Delsin as he stood, coughing. He seemed harmless in those few small seconds.

"Oh, thanks, man," he said with a lazy southern drawl. "Thought I was gonna die."

"Hey, you alright?" Reggie came into view, walking briskly over to the three of us, a wild amount of concern on his face.

"Oh, god." The criminal then raised his elbow, letting that connect with Delsin's jaw, to which Delsin's reaction was to groan and slump over, making it all too easy for the criminal to wrap his arms around Delsin threateningly.

My act of bravery went as quick as it came, as the criminal easily pushed me to the ground before I could do much of anything. My face smacked against the pavement, the immediate sting above my eyebrow becoming apparent. I groaned, opening my eyes to see the Reggie with his gun pointed, Delsin in the criminal's arms and the criminal trying to contain Delsin.

Quite the quick turn of events, I'd say.

"I don't wanna hurt nobody," the orange jumpsuit said, voice shaking in the slightest. "I just wanna get goin' before she gets here."

Reggie stood firm, letting go of the negotiating tone. He held his gun tight, unwavering. "I said let him go or I will shoot you!"

"Reg..." Delsin, understandably, sounded nervous.

The criminal stuck his arm out taught, towards the smoking car beside him. From what you could see of his forearm for the tips of his fingers, his skin turned a lava red, glowing, almost like looking directly into a campfire. The smoke from the car travelled quickly from the car to his hand, wrapping around his arm in a darkened, fluid substance.

Bio-terrorist.

I could see the look on Reggie's face, which I'd say pretty much matched mine; utter shock. The disappointing realization that we were dealing with not just any criminal, but a Bio-terrorist. And, of course, the look of pure worry.

"I said I don't wanna hurt nobody!" The Bio-terrorist's hand shifted forward to aim at Reggie faster than I could've imagined. Lucky for us, Reggie was always a little bit quicker.

Reggie dodged, stumbling on his feet. And Delsin, wriggling in the bio-terrorist's arms, decided the reach out and clamp both hands down on the smoke emanating from the scary man. The bBio-terrorist's head whipped back, almost as if he was in pain.

Delsin dropped to the ground, eyes closed, body limp.

"Delsin!" I finally got out from my designated spot a couple feet away, crawling towards him and flipping him onto his back. I checked his pulse, feeling that slight, but evident, thump-thump-thump. I looked up at Reggie, who was stood still, looking at Delsin and me. "He's okay," I reassured. I looked past Reggie for just a second, watching the Bio-terrorist running away. "Go!"

Reggie caught my eye, looking mad at himself for not already chasing the bio-terrorist, but also concerned for his unconscious brother. "Nita -"

"Go!" I yelled.

I couldn't stand the thought of a Bio-terrorist making his way through our town. I couldn't stand the thought of anymore Akomish getting hurt. There were too many people I cared about for that. Reggie would get him. All I had to do was make sure Delsin was okay. And so I did the only thing I really knew how to do. I stood up and ran towards the Longhouse, knowing that a doctor would suit best for the situation.

I got far enough away, hesitating for a small moment on whether I should've left Delsin laying on the road like that. I was too close to the Longhouse to change my mind, really, but none of that mattered when I glanced back at Delsin - or where Delsin should've been.

"For God's sake!"

Knowing Delsin, there was no doubt in my mind that he had gotten up, sprite as ever, and rushed off to find Reggie. And I was about to do the same.

I ran back to where Delsin should've been, looking ahead at the fire-spreading, broken-glass ridden, dangerous road. I took a breath, closing my eyes to listen to the seagulls. I opened my eyes to the wonderful Akomish sunset and then I turned my head away, running through, over, and around anything I could to get to wherever Reggie and Delsin were.

I came to a massive pine tree crossing the path and behind those masses of pine needles, I could hear the ever so comforting sound of Reggie's voice.

"Okay, just help me push!"

I climbed over the tree, feeling the harsh bark on my hands and the smell of the pine sticking to me wherever it could. As soon as I was on the other side of the tree, the smell turned to smoke real quick. The crackles of the fires were louder, and the panic in the air was more tense.

Reggie's foot was stuck under a tree trunk, which had a shattered car resting upon it. Delsin was standing beside Reggie, readily putting his hands up to the car and preparing to push.

"Reggie! Delsin!" I ran forward quickly, taking a place in between the two of them. I put my hands on the surprisingly hot metal of the car, watching Reggie as he tiredly stood up. "Are you okay?"

Reggie stood fully and he looked over at me to answer, his gaze passing me and looking at Delsin. "Dear God!"

I turned my head to my right, feeling a sudden wave of heat take over my entire body, to look at what seemed so curious to Reggie.

Delsin stood, hands planted on the car, fingertips to forearms a lava red. It seemed like fire, almost in the form of a line, was being sucked from the air, making a direct way into Delsin's hands. Where there wasn't the blinding brightness of fire-esque flow, there was a dark and thick smoke surrounding Delsin.

I felt myself numb for a moment, hands sliding off of the car to swing at my sides. I couldn't take my eyes off of him as he shoved the car away, letting the car fly across the road in an inhuman display of strength.

Delsin fell back onto the ground, the thick air of smoke lingering around him. "I can't stop it, man. I can't stop it! Reggie!"

I was unable to move, but Reggie was at Delsin's aid, kneeling behind him, grabbing the smoky hands of Delsin and crossing them against his own chest, holding tightly and comfortingly.

"It's okay. You're okay." Reggie rocked him a little bit, just like he used to do when we were kids. "Breathe. You're all right. You're all right."

"I'm one of them, man." Delsin at first was muttering in a panic and then he said, loud and clear, "I'm one of them!"

"No!" Reggie moved fast, putting himself in front of Delsin, hands planting themselves on his shoulders, almost shaking him a little. "No!" He let go with one hand, pointing his finger at Delsin in that stern Reggie-way. "You are my brother! All right? You are _my _brother."

Delsin nodded, falling out of his panic and listening to Reggie. "Okay."

"This thing with you is gonna pass." Reggie sounded so sure. "I promise. We're gonna fix it. You with me?" Delsin didn't answer and then Reggie's hands found his face, holding his cheeks tight. "You with me?"

"Okay. Okay." Delsin nodded quickly.

"We gotta get out there," Reggie said quickly, moving on to the next most important topic besides his brother; safety. "There is a Bio-terrorist. We gotta stop him before he gets to the rest of the tribe." Reggie's head snapped up to me, opening his mouth to say something.

He was interrupted by Delsin. "Nita?" He was sitting on the ground, looking up at me with a hopeful, almost desperate look. Now that he had calmed down a little bit, he was looking to me. I wasn't for sure what.

"What?" I asked, unmoving. I wasn't scared of him. I could never be scared of Delsin. I knew he would never cause me harm, but this wasn't Delsin anymore. This was...I couldn't even think of Delsin as a Bio-terrorist. He was unlike any of the others I had seen on the TV, because he was Delsin...our Delsin. But he was still...

"Nita, please."

I swallowed the hard lump in my throat, and I walked slowly in front of the two of them, kneeling down on the ground, watching the smoke roll off of him like steam - just constant. I found Delsin's eyes - his soft, brown, very scared eyes. I felt the guilt of the immediate judgement weigh-in on me, so I reached out, placing my hand on his leg. "Everything is going to be okay, Del." I watched as he let out a breath. I instantly felt better. "We're gonna stop this Bio-terrorist and then we're gonna figure out how to get you back to normal."

"_We _are not doing anything." Reggie grabbed my arm, pulling us to a stand. He put his heavy hand on my shoulder, squeezing for a long moment. "Nita, you're gonna go back to the Longhouse and make sure everyone stays calm. Delsin and I will stop the Bio-terrorist."

Delsin nodded, still so unsure.

Reggie held out his arm to Delsin, who took it quickly, desperate for direction. "I need you." The two brothers held each other's forearms. "I need you right now."

"Okay." Reggie's confidence was unwavering, rubbing off onto Delsin quite quickly as he nodded confidently. "Yeah. Okay. Let's go."

They started to walk away, but not before both of them turned back, pointing directly at me. "Longhouse!" Delsin said loudly, seeming to take the words right from Reggie's mouth.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from 'Infamous Second Son' pls dont sue

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2...

By the time I had gotten back to the Longhouse, my throat was dry. My hands were also so sweaty and nervous, it was difficult to turn the knob on the door, only making my heart race a thousand times faster.

Finally, I got the door open.

All our Akomish stuffed inside were mostly unsuspecting. There was a lot of curious chatter and the music had been turned down quite a bit, but, for the most part, everyone seemed normal and intact and not suddenly turned into a Bio-terrorist, so that was good.

"Nita?" One of the elders was walking towards me, filled with concern. Whenever he spoke, everyone listened, so he was speaking to me...all eyes were on me.

I tried to keep my cool, but my heart was beating so fast, mouth dry, hands sweaty, it all came out in the most elegant way possible between breaths. "Bio-terrorist escaped! He was - toward the - to the cannery!" I took a couple of breaths and people gasped and looked to each other. "We have to stay here where it's -"

"We have to go!"

"Safe," I finished, just to myself. It was pointless to keep talking, as every person in the Longhouse now was talking themselves, sounding mildly panicked. It was only a matter of seconds before people started to pile out, leaving the lively music and their beers behind. I tried to grab at people as they left. "No, wait - no, you guys -" I tried until ever person left the Longhouse.

I looked around the now empty Longhouse, seeing all of the ornate pieces of our history inside of a mounted glass case on the back wall. There was beautiful pieces of clothing and original items, like small tools and cutlery. I wished I had admired them more. I wasn't sure why I had that feeling, it was just...

Why did it feel like...things were going to change for the worst?

When I walked outside, the air was even drier than before and smoky. The small fires were still in place - no more, no less, it seemed. I followed the fast-moving crowed to the cannery, which had the biggest plumes of smoke coming from it.

I could barely see with all the people standing around, but after squeezing my way through, I could see that the gate to the cannery was open and that there were a few trucks inside, bright lights shining onto that exact Bio-terrorist Delsin and Reggie had been chasing down.

My thoughts of Reggie and Delsin's safety fell away from me as I observed the people standing just feet away from the Bio-terrorist - men I could only describe as...guards. They were head-to-toe is hardened, protective gear, grey with some parts being yellow. They had big guns in their hands, not pointed at the Bio-terrorist. They didn't need to.

The orange-suited bio-terrorist was pleading, and as he was, concrete formed around him, coming from the ground up. "Listen, you just let me go, you just let me walk away -" He kept talking but the concrete moved up his body, encasing him. "Nobody's ever gotta know about any of this. Wait a minute! Just stop, let's talk abou-" The concrete fully covered him, and like that, he was gone.

The woman, dressed in an all navy blue, very clean suit walked over to him. Her reddish hair was pulled back neatly in a bun, and her face was immediately distrusting to me. I knew she was supposed to be the good side, but still... "Oh, Henry," she said to the now pile of concrete. "I am so very disappointed in you."

She looked like she was on the right side...but she...

"Well -" Delsin. He was standing in front of the doors of the cannery, trying to casually weasel his way out. "We got 'em, right? I, uh, flushed that mean old Conduit for you." He waved to the 'guards'. "Good job, everybody."

"Bio-terrorist," the woman corrected, making Delsin pause. "Henry Daughtry was a Bio-terrorist. Conduit -" She practically spat when she said the word. "Is a word used by traitors who sympathize with their cause." She walked closer to him. "You're not a traitor, are you?"

"I, uh..." My god, Delsin, just say no. Instead, Delsin crossed his arm - nervously? Defensively? "Try not to be."

What a shit answer.

Their voices dropped slightly and it got harder to hear, even with every single person watching from outside the cannery being quiet. I moved closer, hoping to hear better, but was stopped my a sudden hand gripping my arm.

"What happened to the plan?" Reggie asked me, turning me to face him. He was angry, like always. "The Longhouse?"

"I couldn't stop them," I said. My only hope was to be honest. I had looked among the crowd and hadn't noticed Betty and I hoped Reggie had. "Have you seen Betty?"

Reggie released my from his harsh grip. He used his hand to put a comforting hand on my shoulder instead, which I enjoyed much more. "No, I haven't." His eyes shifted back to the commotion that was Delsin.

They were speaking loud enough to hear again.

"You see, we are engaged in a life or death war with these Bio-terrorists, and it's my job to do whatever it takes to ensure that we win that war." He voice was smooth and intimidating. She seemed serious and just a little off. She left Delsin with a long gaze and then she turned around to leave.

I relaxed against Reggie, feeling my back hit his chest as I sighed. "Thank -"

"But -" Delsin started. No! "It's kinda funny because, aren't you a Bio-terrorist too?"

No, no, no, no, no.

The woman stopped in her tracks, much like Delsin did when she started talking to him. She seemed much more confident, though, especially when the sparks and crackle of newly forming rock started at Delsin's feet.

"Okay, okay," Delsin said, giving it up, like he should've from the start.

She turned back around, pausing for a moment before walking back toward Delsin. "Yes, I am," she said, loud enough for the crowd to hear, which she surely wanted. "Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. And it's clear now that you're not a coward, which means that there's something you're not telling me."

I felt my body tense and Reggie's hands on my shoulders squeezing.

With a wave of her hand, the intimidating guards started to close in on Delsin, guns up in the air, pointed directly at him.

"What are you doing?" Delsin took a step or two back. "You can't do this! You crazy, I got rights!"

I could only watch with an open mouth.

The woman spoke loudly again, really putting on the show for the crowd. "And I have the legal authority to suspend those rights whenever I feel it's necessary. Like now, for instance." By then, she was back beside Delsin. "I'll ask again, what happened in there?"

"And I'll tell you again, noth - Ah!" Delsin crouched over, reaching for his leg. There was a piece of new shard of concrete sticking out of the back of his leg. I didn't know how deep, I just knew that it looked painful and that it took us all by surprise.

"Delsin!" I took one big step forward, but Reggie was holding me tight against him. I tried to elbow Reggie. "Why aren't you doing anything?"

Reggie opened his mouth to respond until we heard Delsin cry out again.

"Maybe I know what happened in there!" Betty, in her bright garments, Akomish Day ready, stepped out from between the guards with her noble declaration.

"No!" Delsin yelled to her. "Betty, don't!"

"Really?" The woman was unimpressed, but she wasn't going to be getting anything. "Still nothing?" She waited a moment for Delsin to speak again, which, of course, he didn't. "Well, unless you decide that you do have something to tell me, I'll go chat with that nice old lady." She was walking towards _Betty_ \- our Betty. "But you should know, concrete is especially hard on brittle bones. And if she doesn't talk -" The woman looked out into the crowd, eyes connecting with mine. "I'll just move on to the next one." Back to Delsin. "So, do you have something you want to tell me? Or do you prefer that I move onto your friend's here?"

Delsin said something, head hanging down, and I knew instantly.

"What?" The woman asked.

"No..." I let out, feeling my heart sink deep into my chest. The sadness that overcame me was sudden, just by the new thought that things would never be the same ever again.

"I said, I'm a Conduit, alright?" Delsin actually said it - and loudly too. He gestured to the pile of concrete. "I caught it a second ago from that guy."

She nodded. At first, I thought she was satisfied, but her tone was defensive and angry. "Oh, you caught it? Very funny..." Another piece of concrete sank into Delsin's leg.

The pain on his face was so harsh, I felt like I was feeling it too.

"Delsin..." Betty sounded so worried. She was standing only ten feet from him, and she could not do a thing to help him. She felt helpless, not unlike the rest of the tribe, forced to stand around and just watch.

"So, Betty," the woman said, "Maybe you can give me a straight answer."

Betty was defiant and proud, and more than anything, loyal. She would not talk, no matter the cost. And the cost was great.

...

The circumstances were awful, the Longhouse was depressing, and I had never been more proud to be Akomish. The amount of people that were hurt. laying in the stretchers of the makeshift hospital we made the Longhouse, was beyond upsetting. They were there because they would not give up. They wanted to protect Delsin, no matter what. It was a price they should've never had to pay, and yet, they didn't hesitate.

Anyone who wasn't injured was helping. Reggie and I had been running around the whole day, along with a lot of other swho were eager to help. Every once in a while, I popped my head behind the privacy curtain that held Delsin to check on him. He was laying there, shards gone, sleeping. He looked peaceful, but I still wanted him to wake up.

After the Longhouse quieted down and most people were asleep, I sat down besides Betty's bed and spent a long time talking to her. She was the most beloved of all us, with her 'Get Well Soon, Betty' banner hanging above her on the wall, and she was one of the only ones who could give the kind of comfort I desperately needed.

She was in her gown, leg wrapped and elevated atop a pillow. She tried to be smiley, even though there were concrete shards inside on her leg. Her breathing was more sparse than normal, but she told me not to worry.

I worried. The doctor's came through. I didn't hear what they said to Reggie, but it didn't seem good. I could've guessed. This was not a good situation. How do you take concrete out of a person's body without killing them? If that was the case, how long could concrete be in a person's body without killing them?

"Nita, honey..." Betty said to me, pulling me from my deep, worrying thoughts. "Look at me." She only spoke again once I looked at her. "We are strong and we will come through on the other side of this. You know we will."

I rubbed my face. Her words were comforting, but it didn't stop me from worrying. Instead of lying to her, I decided to just nod and stand, grabbing her cup of water. "More water, Betty?"

"I could get used to this kind of service."

I managed a small chuckle, walking around her bed, allowing my eyes to droop and shoulders to drop. Just as quickly as I lost myself, I felt my heart swell as I saw Delsin standing in front of me. I was so happy to see him, alive and safe. The relief was immense. Careful not to wake up anyone, I quietly let out, "Del."

He walked toward me, no limp or anything, and wrapped his strong arms around me. "You're okay." He squeezed me tight. "You're okay."

"Yeah." I leaned away, looking him over quickly. He seemed unchanged, and yet so much had happened. So much to our tribe... "A chunk of us are just fine. As for everyone else, it's..." I paused. I didn't want to overwhelm him. I looked over my shoulder. "Betty will be happy to see you."

Delsin passed me with a couple of gentle pats on my shoulder. I waited until he was sitting on Betty's bed, taking her hands in his until I left. They would've been happy to see each other, I was sure.

I made it to the kitchen, placing the cup on the counter and starting the tap, just waiting for it to get cold. When Reggie appeared beside me, I stopped the tap so that we could talk. "Hey," I said softly, turning and leaning against the counter. "How's the other side?"

Reggie looked so tired, so stressed out. He usually looked one degree of one or the other, but never this bad. "Mostly asleep." He sighed, leaning against the counter with me. "It's so quiet in here, it's almost like it never happened."

I let my head hang down, feeling my cheeks grow hot. But it did happen. "But it did happen."

Reggie, after so many years of knowing me, knew from the tone of my voice to lean over and wrap his arms around me. They were big and strong and oh so comforting. He pulled me against his warm chest. "We'll figure this out; we have to."

Eyes closed, my head against his chest, I could hear his heart beating. "What did the doctor say?"

His heart beat quickened slightly. "Nothing that I didn't already suspect. Those concrete shards aren't coming out unless that lady wants to take them out."

Surely, that wasn't going to happen. That lady - Brooke Augustine - had left back to Seattle with no sign of returning. I was relieved at first, now I was worried. If she didn't come back and take them out...they would die; our people; our tribe.

Footsteps coming around the corner.

I leaned away from Reggie, realizing then that I had forgotten to mention the fact that Delsin was, in fact, up and moving around. I watched as Reggie rounded the corner. I couldn't see his face, just the he wrapped his arms around Delsin quickly.

"Oh, man, Delsin!" Reggie sounded relieved as he talked lowly. He pulled away, shaking his brother a little at the shoulders. He glanced back at me, leaning against the wall, and then he said to Delsin. "I thought we were gonna lose you there."

"A little concrete in the legs?" Delsin said, looking to where his shoes, keys and bag were in the little cubby by the door. "It's gonna take more than that."

Reggie watched after him carefully, seeming afraid he would disappear at any moment. "Glad to see 'fast healing' seems to be apart of your new, uh, thing. Speaking of which -" Reggie moved in closer, holding his hands up. "Uh, the craziness with the, uh, hands...is that gone?"

Delsin swung open the cubby, the wooden door swinging back against it. I flinched at the sound in the quiet place as Delsin reached for his stuff. "I don't know, man. There's 'no smoking in the Longhouse', remember?" he said as he put his shoes on.

A chuckle rose from my chest and actually made it out of my mouth. I pushed myself off of the wall and walked towards the both of them, growing more serious with every step. "You talked to Betty?"

"Yeah," Delsin said, and that was all he said. The look in his eyes was guarded, like he always was, but you could see that he was in pain; that he thought this whole thing was his fault.

"It's not your fault, Delsin," I told him.

He nodded gratefully, though I wasn't sure he believed it. "Thanks, Nita." He bent down and tied up his laces. "I'm gonna head out - wouldn't wanna get in the way of anyone's recovery."

Recovery...

"Recovery?" Reggie said, matching my thoughts. "Delsin, these people aren't getting any better." His voice quieted slightly and the most horrible sentence in the world came through. "They're dying, man."

Delsin went on the defensive, sticking out a finger to Reggie. "You don't know that." He returned to putting on his shoes, moving faster now.

"No, but the doctors who came through here when you were out, they do, and they said that..." Reggie shook his head, probably thinking about how cruel the entire situation was. "They said that the only way those shards are coming out is the exact same way they went in."

"What?" Delsin was growing frustrated. He was probably exhausted too. "But that was Augustine and her...'concrete power'." Delsin looked to me. "How are we supposed to..." His words flattened out into nothing.

The three of us stood there in silence for a long moment, each shifting on our feet.

"Screw it," Delsin said - his absolute favourite line. "Looks like the three of us are going to Seattle, and we're gonna go get her."

I was surprised by the determination, the slight anger, and the casual nature of how Delsin said it. To him, it was as simple as he said, but it wasn't. A million things swarmed by mind of how bad of an idea it was.

Apparently, Reggie thought so too. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait." He grabbed Delsin to make sure he was paying attention. "What, you think you're just gonna charm her into coming back here with you?" He reached out for Delsin's arm. "Come on, man, I know you took a bump to the head, but you two didn't exactly hit it off last time you were together."

"There's has to be another way," I said. "A different way."

Delsin shook his head. He looked more determined by the seconds passing. "There is no other way." He looked between me and Reggie, determined and incredibly serious. "I did this, and I gotta fix it."

Reggie and I barely had time to think about his before Delsin was moving past us. Reggie and I both grabbed at his arms, but Reggie was the first to speak.

"No, damnit, Delsin, you just got back on your feet." We let go of Delsin once he stopped. "Look, I know you wanna help, but the doctors said -"

"That the only way it's getting out is with the same power, I get it," Delsin repeated back, not word-for-word, but definitely hitting the mark. His face turned away a little as his eyes wandered off. He was putting pieces together, but which ones? "Which means, we don't actually need Augustine. We just need her power."

"What're you talking about?" I asked, glancing at Reggie to make sure I wasn't the only one that seemed completely lost. I wasn't. I looked back to Delsin, brows furrowed. "How could you..." My words trailed off, head tilting as I thought about it. "Okay..."

Delsin nodded at me and looked to Reggie. "I'm a goddamn power sponge, remember? If I got smoke, why can't I get concrete?" Delsin, despite the circumstances, seemed more than pleased, even hitting Reggie on the arm in a 'I'm so smart, right' kind of way.

Reggie was a skeptic, though. "Yeah, but what if smoke was just a fluke, huh?" Reggie was also a planner, and a lot smarter than Delsin and I, whether either of us liked to admit it. He laid out the logistics. "I mean, think about it, you'd have to go through, what, a thousand D.U.P guys just to get to her."

On the opposite side, Delsin was spontaneous - sometimes mixed up with careless. "Yeah, probably something like that." He started walking toward the door. "I'll explain in the truck."

"What truck?" Reggie watched him go. "You don't have a truck, I -" His head fell down slightly as he followed after. "It's my truck."

The three of us walked outside. As Delsin threw his bag through the window to land on the seat, Reggie suddenly held his arm out in front of me, causing my to run directly into it.

"Whoa, whoa, where do you think you're going?" he asked me, and he wasn't joking.

My eyes widened at him as I looked from him to Delsin to the truck. "You think I'm gonna stay behind while you two run off on this dangerous mission?"

Reggie was standing in front of me, firm and unmoving. He even raised a stern finger to solidify his point. "That's exactly what you're going to do. This is too dangerous for you, Nita, you're not coming. Besides...there's only two seats."

I had squeezed in between them in the truck more times than I could count on my fingers and toes. I looked to Delsin for help. "Delsin, tell your brother that you can't possibly do this without me and that I need to come."

Delsin had this expression on his face like he was folding. He was going to agree with Reggie, the asshole. "Nita, you're precious cargo, alright? Maybe this isn't the trip for you."

Reggie jumped in again, sensible until the end. "Someone needs to be in charge here while I'm gone. Someone needs to take care of our tribe." He was looking down at me, so serious, and then he looked like he was begging. "Please, Nita."

The look on his face - I couldn't put up any more of a fight. "Okay..." I nodded and sighed heavily. I was a mix between pissed off and seriously relieved. "I'll stay," I told Reggie, jogging past him to Delsin before he got into the truck. "Come back alive," I said. "And with the correct power. That'd be great."

Delsin gave me a tight, but brief, hug. "Only if you say please."

I tried not to laugh, but I never was able to hold it in. I closed the truck door after him and I took a couple of big steps back, listening with all the anxiousness in the world as the truck started up, backed out of the parking lot, and then drove away.

I waved as they left, and I hoped for their safe return.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from 'Infamous Second Son' pls dont sue

* * *

3...

"Nita?"

I lifted my head from the table. My sleep was about to consume me, and I tried to pretend that it didn't. When I looked up at Anna, I tried to smile and seem totally and completely awake. "Hey."

She looked at me, the same way everyone had been looking at me all day. "Everyone's doing their last things and heading home."

"Great," I said, trying for enthusiasm that time. It came out a little flat. I nodded to her. "Thank you for everything today, Anna. You have a goodnight, okay?"

"Nita -" She took a step forward. Her brows were creased with worry. "When are you gonna go home and sleep or eat? I swear I haven't see you do either for days now. You can't be feeling good."

It was true. I didn't remember the last time I had eaten, but I was reminded every second of how long it had been since I slept, my eyes drifting closed every couple of minutes, sleep coming for me.

But I couldn't go home, not when Reggie left me in charge, not when all the injured were here in the Longhouse. What if they needed something?

I was as awake as I could be as I looked at Anna. "I'm fine, Anna. I feel a lot better being here, just in case." Even I was convinced by the soothing tone of my voice. So was Anna, who told me to get some sleep and then left to go home.

I waited until the door to the Longhouse closed to sink back into my chair. My forehead just landed against the table again when my phone started to vibrate. I felt it in my head, jolting me awake, and I picked it up. "Hello?"

_"My main squeeze. I thought'd I'd give you a quick call while I was still."_

I breathed out a massive sigh of relief. It felt like I could breathe clearly without a weight pressing down against my chest. "Delsin, hey. How are you? What's going on?"

He sighed on the other line. "You_ know me, exploring Seattle, really getting my vacation in. I think I'm gonna get one of those big pretzels and -"_

I couldn't even laugh. I was too anxious. "Really, Del, tell me."

_"I mean, I'm trying to lay low in Seattle, you know, destroyin' stuff, the usual. Reggie is finding me all these core relays around town, even though I had to practically beg the guy to do it."_ They wouldn't be brothers if they didn't jab at each other. Whatever, that was what they had me for. _"I need to be stronger if I'm gonna have any chance at Augustine."_

"You're not together?"

"Reg has his swanky set up in some safe house - cop connections."

"Good plan," I said back, and then realized I had no idea what he was talking about. "What's a core relay, anyway?"

_"They're mobile units. Basically the D.U.P's eyes and ears. They're set up all over this damn city. If I can destroy those, I get the power from them to help me out, plus it keeps the D.U.P off my back a little bit."_

"The D.U.P - they're trouble, huh?"

_"They're crawling all over this city, so that's kinda putting it lightly."_

I sighed, sinking into the table a little bit. My heart weighed me down. "I wish I was there. I wish I could help."

_"You are helping,"_ he insisted. "_By being in Salmon Bay, on the reserve, taking care of everyone."_ He was so genuine and so reassuring - he sounded like Reggie. _"How is everyone?"_

"Yeah, I mean, everyone's been so good with helping. I think we're making them feel the best we possibly can until you can get back." I thought I would've had a million more questions, but I was so tired, I didn't know if I was even thinking properly. What was important was that Delsin and Reggie were alive, maybe well, and that they were preparing. "How's Seattle? Have you been to the Space Needle yet?"

_"Still dreaming of it. As for the rest of Seattle, it's a complete wreck. The D.U.P's have turned this place upside down."_

That was upsetting to me, I couldn't had imagined how the people who had their homes there felt. The D.U.P was tearing up their city. I doubted it helped with the whole 'not all Bio-terrorists are bad' thing.

"And how are you doing with everything else, with the whole Bio-terrorist thing?"

_"Nita, please,"_ Delsin said. _"Say Conduit. I can barely take it when Reggie calls them that."_

I thought for a long second. "You used to call them that too."

_"That's not fair, it's different now!"_ Delsin was insisting, and strongly too. "_You and Reggie couldn't understand. You haven't seen what I've seen."_

"What do you mean?"

For a couple of seconds, it was just Delsin's breathing, and then he started to explain. _"When I got the smoke, when I touched Hank, or he touched me or whatever, I could see his thoughts - his mind. Nita..."_ His voice dropped down, only in the way it did when he was upset. _"These people were taken in, chained up like animals, poked and prodded by Augustine and her little minions. It's not what everyone always said it was."_

I could get it. Delsin always considered himself an underdog, out of the norm, never fitting in and now he finally fit in, it just so happened to be with a group of people that most of the world despised. Reggie and I always told him he mattered, that he wasn't just another speck on Earth, but he never seemed to believe us. It seemed like this happening to him finally made him feel like he mattered. I wasn't going to take that away from him.

"I believe you."

_"Aaaaawwwweeee," _Delsin joked on the other line, but I knew he was secretly touched. _"That's sweet."_

I shook my head, even though I knew Delsin couldn't see me. "God, I mean, we've been conditioned to think of the Bi - Conduits as one way our whole entire lives, but then, when Augustine..." I thought about Betty and all of the other injured Akomish. I thought about Delsin. "And you. How could they be the worst thing to happen to this world if you're one of them? There has to be more like you - good, decent, not...evil, like they say." I was quick to remind him. "That doesn't mean I'm picking sides. I think having that kind of power can be dangerous, and I'm sure a lot of Conduits take advantage of that."

_"Aren't you exciting?"_

I laughed, but tried to remain with my point. "I'm serious, Delsin. Some people are bad people, Conduit or not. The world can't just forget everything bad thing the media had highlighted that they've done. You need to be careful in Seattle."

_"Don't worry about me. I have you and Reggie to keep me in line."_

I felt my phone vibrate in my hand and I pulled it away from my ear to see Reggie trying to call. I put my phone back to my ear. "Speaking of; Reggie's trying to call."

_"I'm still your favourite, right?"_

He was, but I wanted him to sweat a little, especially for not taking my side on the idea of my coming to Seattle. I pulled the phone away from my ear, dismissively saying, "I gotta go, bye!"

_"Nita, you little -"_

I hung up on Delsin, still laughing a little when I picked up Reggie's call. "Reg, hey."

_"What's so funny?"_

"What're you, the laughing police?"

_"Sherriff, Nita."_

"Oh, my bad. Laughing _Sheriff._" I blinked a couple of times, still in my trying-to-stay-awake mode. I tried not to get too comfortable in my chair. "I just got off the phone with Delsin."

_"Oh, yeah? What's he been saying?"_

"Oh, you know, just reminding me that's he's the more handsome, brave, and strong brother, as per usual."

_"I know you don't believe that."_

I laughed a little bit and then continued to talk. "He also said he was gonna get one of those pretzels that -"

_"No way he's not."_ Reggie sounded sure about that. _"He's supposed to be laying low around the city. **Supposed to**, being the keys words."_

"Okay, well, let's just say he's laying low for arguments sake. Where are you? Delsin said you're in some safe house."

_"One of my S.P.D buddies -"_ Seattle Police Department. _"Set me up in a safe house in the middle of Seattle. We're just trying to gather leads right now on the D.U.P comm systems, power systems, energy sources - anything. Hopefully we could get D.U.P stuff shut down, make this whole thing a lot easier when it comes down to it. Maybe we'll look in on some leads to Augustine, but I think I'll keep any we find to myself for now."_

"Sounds like a plan." I then took advantage of the couples seconds of silence. I could've kept it to myself, in fact, I really needed to stop meddling, but I couldn't help myself. "You need to stop calling them Bio-terrorists, Reg. You need to stop calling your own brother a Bio-terrorist."

_"I do **not **call him that, but that **is **what they are, Nita." _Reggie was always so firm in what he said. Now that he said it, he wasn't going to back down. I had a feeling he would never stop calling them Bio-terrorists. _"He thinks this the best thing that's ever happened to him. I can't let it get to his head."_

"I know this seems like the end of the world to you, but...this is the first time in forever that Delsin's probably felt like he belonged." It was a tough thing to say and probably even harder to hear. "Reggie, you have Sheriff, and Delsin had nothing. He has something now and he's using it to help his people - your people - _our _people."

_"But -"_

"You have to be on his side for this one, okay? Have a little faith."

_"In Delsin?"_ he asked, like it was a wild maneuver.

"In me," I said to him, hoping that was a better concept for him to grasp. "In what I'm telling you." He didn't say anything and I had to ask, "What are you so afraid of?"

Reggie sighed deep, right into the phone. I was a little saddened just by the sound. And then he said the most brotherly thing he could've said. _"I just don't want anything to happen to him. This...thing, it's a target on his back. I want him to want to be rid of it when this is all over."_

I tried to be positive, even a little too hopeful. "Maybe when this is all over, things will be different." It was a long shot, and I could tell Reggie wasn't believing it, so I changed the subject. "Everyone here has been really good here. There's always help. We're doing the most we can. I'm really proud of everyone here."

_"That's good,"_ Reggie said. He paused for a long moment, and then said, _"I'm proud of you, Nita. You've really taken the lead here and I appreciate that..."_ The so professional tone slid away. _"I appreciate that more than you can possibly know. You're...you're all grown up, I guess."_

I smiled, feeling a harsh heat on my cheeks and chest. I was glad Reggie couldn't see me or else he would've never stopped teasing me for it. "I've been grown up for a while now, Reg, but thank you for the compliment anyway." I tapped the table for a second or two. "Anyway, I should try and catch up on a little sleep."

_"Remember to take care of yourself."_

"You focus on you and Delsin, okay? I'll worry about me."

_"I always worry about you."_

I stopped tapping the table, taking a second to take a deep breath in. My heart warmed and I smiled a little. "I think you just always worry in general," I said to him, earning a small chuckle through the phone. "Remember to keep calling, okay? I have a feeling Delsin won't."

_"He's busy saving the world remember? Being Batman, or whatever."_

"Careful, Sheriff. You don't want to sound jealous."

_"Yeah, right."_

I closed my eyes, finding it nearly impossible to open them again. I sighed, my head getting closer and closer to the table. "Goodnight, Reggie. Or should I say Robin?"

_"Ha-ha."_

After Reggie hung up, I laughed to myself, leaving my phone on top of the table as I settled my head into my arms. I tried not to think about the discomfort I would have in my neck, as well as my back from falling asleep in the chair. Once I stopped thinking about that, sleep came quickly.

...

The make-shift hospital was also quiet and calm, never hectic or chatty. It was a beautiful day on the reserve, with the sun shining through on the big windows looking out to the sea. I had opened them, letting the fresh air drift through. I could hear the waves crashing and the seagulls squawking. I wanted more than anything to be outside, just like all of the injured still laying in their beds.

Instead, I was reading a book, sitting next to a sleeping Betty in her bed. I didn't stay like that for long.

"Miss Otoe?"

I looked up at the doctor, offering a smile and a quick nod. I moved stealthily, as to not wake Betty, as I got out of the chair, put my boring book down and walked away with the doctor. I talked in a soft voice. "I can't even begin to thank you for everything."

"Please, Miss Otoe -"

"Nita," I interrupted quickly. I was in my early twenties. I did not want to feel old enough to be called 'miss'. "Please."

The doctor hesitated a moment. He was young, but he didn't seem unprofessional or new. "Nita..." he said with a little warily. He voice evened out as he pushed his glasses back up his straight nose. "You don't need to thank me. This is what I do."

"Still," I said. There was no way I couldn't not thank him. "Is there anything I can do for you? Anything at all? Literally anything to thank you?" I was so desperate to not take him for granted and I thought he was getting those vibes.

He considered for a moment. "Well, do you have any coffee?"

I smiled. I was just happy to give him something - anything, even shitty coffee. "World's best in the kitchen cupboard." A bit of stretch, but whatever. I lead him to the kitchen and opened the cupboard, holding up the tub to him. "Ta-da." I shook the tub, hoping to inspire some excitement.

He didn't look excited, but he did manage a laugh. He leaned against the counter as I made him a coffee, and he, again, pushed his glassed up his nose. "I've never seen a community like this. _Every _single person is doing something to help. You don't get that everywhere."

Betty's words rang through my head as I repeated them to him. "We're Akomish; we take care of our own." I had to add the realism to it as well. "We're also small tribe, so _every _single person isn't that many people." Still though..."Still, I'm really proud."

"As you should be. Everyone seems to look to you."

"I'm just the stand-in," I admitted. I enjoyed the praise, but I never wanted to take credit for something Reggie had set up. "The Sheriff set all of this up before he left to -" I stopped for a second, unsure of how much I should've shared. "To try and fix all this."

"That's brave."

My hands rested against the counter as I felt the familiar weight on my shoulders. "Yeah, it is." I couldn't stop thinking about Delsin and Reggie, it was like every second and every space in my head was taken up by them. "I can't stop thinking about it," I said aloud, before I could stop myself, to this nearly complete stranger.

He looked at me, studying me, waiting for a reaction when he asked, "He's close to you?"

"Him and his brother..." I couldn't stop the words from pouring out. "They're like family to me."

It was true and it wasn't really a secret, I just didn't go around telling everyone. It was no secret either that I was never close with my parents. They left Salmon Bay so many years ago, sometimes I forgot what they looked like. They were no where near me and we had never kept in touch. They were strangers to me. Delsin and Reggie...they were my family.

I was realizing then, leaning up against the kitchen counter in the Longhouse that I had never said that to Reggie or Delsin. I also realized that...they could die. They could die in Seattle, doing whatever, and they would never know how important they were to me.

"Miss Otoe?"

I was so distracted, I barely noticed him say my name, and I certainly wasn't paying enough attention to correct him. I looked at him and then down at the finished coffee. I poured it into one of the many thrifted mugs and then I handed it to him. "Drink your coffee, hang around, sit outside; enjoy the bay," I insisted. If I wasn't going to, I wanted some to get it.

He held the coffee in his veiny hands, already walking towards the doors to sit outside in the wonderful sun. "Thank you."

I watched him go, taking a breath and heading back to where Betty was laying. I picked up my book and sat back down in the chair, only getting through a couple of pages before Betty's eyes started to open. "Hey..." I said quietly, closing the book and scooting the chair closer to her side. "How are you feeling?"

Betty blinked a couple of times, getting the tiredness out. "A little bit better, actually."

"The doctor just came through," I explained. He had relieved a lot of people. It was temporary, but completely worth it. "The antibiotics will last all through the night. You'll get a really good night's sleep."

"I feel like all I do is sleep." She tried to sit up.

I adjusted her pillow behind her back. "Betty," I half-scolded her. I knew she wanted more than anything to be up and walking around. She hated feeling helpless. "What do you need? A drink, snack, magazine?"

"How about a massage?" she joked.

"That's gonna cost you extra," I joked back, earning one of my favourite things; Betty's laughter.

She reached out with her soft, warm hand and she put it on the side of my face. The skin around her eyes crinkled as she looked at me. "How are you doing, honey? You looked tired. Have you slept, or eaten even?"

"I did a little." I could've stretched the truth and said I got in three meals and a full night of sleep, but she would've sniffed me out. "A little bit of both."

I couldn't sleep until I felt like I was going to pass out because my mind was constantly running. I felt like I couldn't eat because I was constantly worried. So even if I had the time to sit down (or lay down) and get either done, I felt like I couldn't - like I shouldn't.

"You're worrying about them, aren't you?"

I sighed, like I did in the kitchen. This one was deeper, reaching the depths of my chest and all over my body. "Always."

It had been another whole day and a half. Reggie had called me last night to tell me that Seattle news was covered with this 'Bio-terrorist sniper' killing people at random. He also mentioned Delsin destroying a D.U.P core relay on top of the _Space Needle_, of all things, and that he left a banner with a tag - classic - and that people were calling him the 'Banner Man'. It wasn't the coolest name and so I wasn't surprised to hear that Delsin was displeased.

The sniper though, hung in my thoughts. Was the the media painting another Conduit in bad light or was this a real problem? You could imagine my shock when Reggie said Delsin was going to seek the sniper out, seeing if they had any information of Augustine.

That one kept me up most of that whole night, and I was still thinking about it all through the day today.

I even thought about going to Seattle...

"Why don't you just go?" Betty said boldly, reading my innermost thoughts. "Instead of sitting here and worrying so much?"

"Betty, they said I couldn't come, that I needed to stay here."

Betty smacked her lips, eyes rolling. It was not her usual endearing Betty, but I almsot enjoyed this Betty much more. "Anna could do all this - she would be glad to! You should be in Seattle with them. God knows they needs middleman to keep them in line."

She had pretty well already convinced me, but I needed to say something responsible. "This would be asking for trouble."

Betty - sweet Betty - gave me an 'are you kidding me' look. She had seen right through me. "When have you ever ran from trouble, Nita?"

A completely fair point. I took Betty's wise words as the last of my convincing.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from 'Infamous Second Son' pls dont sue

* * *

4...

I did not tell Reggie that I was coming to Seattle. I saw that less as a betrayal and more of a strategy. If I had told Reggie, or even Delsin, at least one of them (Reggie) would've told me not to even think about it. So, in my best interest, I decided to leave that out of our phone call that morning.

I felt guilty, I did, but I needed to be with them. The three of us had barely been apart nearly my entire life. Staying with the Akomish in our make-shift hospital was comforting, but I felt like I was in the wrong place. Also, Betty could be very convincing.

I didn't know what I had in mind for Seattle when Delsin described it to me, but it was was as close to what I pictured in my head as it could have been. The bridge to even get to Seattle was completely ruined, and in place, was a temporary one set up.

Once you got past the bridge, and all the D.U.P security, you were in the city. It was startling that the ocean was so close and you couldn't smell a trace, at least I couldn't right then. Seattle mostly smelled like concrete, freshly poured. That made me think they were trying to fix up Seattle as fast as the D.U.P was destroying it. Seattle was also wet and not incredibly sunny. It was a different place from Salmon Bay, I knew that, but it felt so much more...grey.

They were beautiful things, like the buildings. Most of them were old, probably refurbished, but not changed too much from the original. It made the streets feel like history. The people too, made Seattle feel a bit better to me. There were so many people, and so diverse.

I desperately wondered what Seattle was like when there wasn't a 'Bio-terrorist Crisis' going on. Speaking of, Delsin had been right - the D.U.P were everywhere, dressed up in those same intimidating suits as when they were on the reserve. They were on every street, in small enough numbers to keep the calm, but large enough to be menacing.

I had been walking through Seattle for a while. My sneakers were soaked and I was getting a chill on my skin, underneath my rain jacket. After passing another group of D.U.P's, I arrived at the address Reggie had told me. He never would've if he had known it was going to become this, but it was a little late to take it back.

The building was old brick, and tall, but shorter than the buildings surrounding it. There was a neon sign higher up that wasn't lit up, some of the letters also broken off, making it pretty well impossible to read.

I tried not to think about it too much as I buzzed in.

_"Hello?"_

Sounded like Reggie, but you could never be too sure. "I have, uh, a delivery for one Reginald Rowe?"

There was a long, very unsettling pause before the speaker crackled and his voice came through again. _"I better be dreaming. You better not really be here, Nita."_

"I'm sorry," I said, and I genuinely was. I waited and there was nothing, so I pressed the button again. "Are you gonna let me freeze out here?" Still nothing. "Reggie?"

Oh god. I was going to have to go back to the reserve. I was going to have to go all the way back to Salmon Bay after coming all the way to Seattle. What was I going to do? What was I going to tell Betty? What -"

_**BUZZZZZZ**_

I immediately reached for the handle, the light door swinging open with ease. I walked inside, down the hall and up the set of stairs, pulling my hair over my shoulder to allow my neck to breathe. I could feel the sweat dripping down my back. That, or it was rain water. Either way, I was nervous.

Was Reggie going to bring me in just to kick me out?

The red door opened to Reggie standing tall in the frame. His mouth was straight, expression not angry or annoyed, but certainly not happy or excited. He didn't moved from the doorway, letting his arm block the way. He raised his eyebrows. "An explanation, maybe?"

I hated that he was trying to play 'bad cop' with me, but the only way I was getting through that door was to play along.

"Look, Anna's got everything pinned down back on the reserve. Everyone is stable, and I scheduled another doctor's visit just a couple days from now," I explained, hoping that would put him at ease, though that speech I had memorized didn't not seem to help at all. He was still looking at me, _so_ unimpressed. "I think it's a better idea for me to be here."

"I disagree," he said strongly.

"I can live with that."

Reggie finally let him arm down, but he did not move from his spot. He scoffed and then his dark eyes came back to me with ten times the fight. "I thought I made a good decision leaving you in charge and all you do is put someone else in charge. Obviously I made a mistake."

That one hurt a little.

Reggie and Delsin were brothers; they got into their fair share of fights. Delsin and I rarely were mad at each other, but Reggie and I did butt heads more often. It was never serious and it never lasted long and it had been happening a lot less since we started to grow up. It was just...Reggie fighting with me and Delsin - he was really good at winning them.

I tried to come up with something to get him back, prove my point, make him see! I didn't have the words to make that happen, so I just spoke honestly, from the heart. "I can't be there, not while you and Delsin are here. I welcomed the responsibly and I did the best I could, but I'm not meant to be there! I meant to be here with you! With you and Delsin."

"You never listen, Nita! You never follow direction or orders." His voice was already so deep and commanding at a normal level. When he yelled, it shook the floors and walls. "I asked you to stay in Salmon Bay for your own good!"

"Do you hear yourself? Orders...you never asked!" My voice was rising too, just trying to keep up with him. "You commanded me!"

"It's not safe!" He yelled. The silence felt so much stronger after both of us quieted down, after all that yelling. "It's not safe here. I don't want you here if it means you can get hurt."

"And what about you and Delsin?"

He stared me down. "We can handle it."

I scoffed back. "And I can't?"

"No, _I _can't," he said to me. Still standing in the doorway, he let out a big sigh, moving a hand to his hip. "_I _wouldn't be able to handle it if you got hurt. Delsin doesn't like to admit it, but neither would he."

What was it with Reggie lately, making me feel so important, so loved? It made it nearly impossible to be pissed off at him.

My heart warmed, the feeling becoming familiar now. I stepped forward, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. I waited until he hugged my back to say into his ear quietly, "I worry for you like that too. I can't be in Salmon Bay when you and Delsin are here, risking your lives. Please, if it was the other way around..."

Reggie squeezed me just a little bit tighter before letting go. His hands moved up to my shoulders as his eyes hung on me. "You're a pain in my ass, did you know that?"

I didn't mean to, but an excited noise came from my mouth and I wrapped my arms around him again briefly. I squeezed tight and then let go, walking around him, into the apartment.

It was very small and very plain. It was a studio-style, so no walls or doors except for the bathroom. There wasn't a whole lot else. There was the kitchen, and a bed against the wall, Reggie's jacket laid casually on it. There was an awkwardly placed couch with no real function, it seemed, with a heavy bag hanging from the ceiling in front of it. Against another wall was a compute set up that looked completely out of place.

While the floors, walls, light fixtures, etcetera looked old, there was a big, dark desk against the wall. It had three desktops sitting on top it, all looking pretty new, as well as a keyboard, mouse, and chair. One of the screens had the news going where one looked like gibberish to me and the other looked like a map of Seattle.

"Your S.P.D friend set you up here?"

"Not bad, right?"

I decided not to answer that. I just turned around and shrugged to him. Then I felt all the anxieties that had been running through my mind on the way to Seattle. "Tell me what's happening. What is our boy up to?"

Reggie walked toward me, passing me with a brush on the shoulder. "We found the sniper." He sat down in his little chair, looking very Sheriff-like as he pulled up something on one of the screens. It looked like an arrest record, paired with a picture of a pretty girl. "Name is Abigail Walker, but she, apparently, prefers to be called 'Fetch'.

I had heard worse nicknames, besides, she could've pulled it off - at least from her picture, she was beautiful. With her dark pink hair and lip ring, she reminded me of a couple of girls Delsin had hooked up with whenever we partied outside of Salmon Bay. "Well, she's definitely his type."

Reggie decided to ignore that and continue. "She was one of the escapees from that not-so-little crash on the reserve. She set up here in Seattle and pretty much jumped right into killing drug dealers with her..._neon_ powers, whatever." Reggie brushed off the last part. He hated saying the word 'powers', I could tell.

"Drug dealers? Is there a reason for that?"

"Delsin said it was something to do with her past; her and her brother, all drugged up, were going through withdrawals, she accidentally kills the guy, blames it on the drugs, hence the murdering of any and all drug dealers in Seattle."

God, that was sad. I had heard plenty of sad stories in my lifetime, but this wasn't a story - this was someone's life.

"What happened with her?"

Reggie, still sitting in his chair, pushed himself away from the desk a little, looking up at me. "Well, I wanted to arrest her, of course, and -"

"Of course?" I asked questioningly.

Reggie's brows furrowed at me. He seemed taken aback. "Am I the only one who doesn't condone murder around here?"

"Drug dealers, Reg," I said back to him, as matter-of-fact as I could. "People who ultimately end up killing a lot of people, first-hand or second. Drugs ruin people's lives. You should know that better than anyone."

Being the Sheriff in Salmon Bay, Reggie was exposed to a lot of the horrors, and he usually filled me and Delsin in. You would be floored on what was going on behind the scenes of people's lives...alcohol abuse, drug abuse, just regular abuse...it was awful. I expected, maybe, that Reggie would allow this Fetch person to continue her work, but I should've known that the Sheriff in him would never let allow it.

I wasn't surprise when he said, "It's still murder, Nita." When he saw that I wasn't going to respond to that, we moved past the topic, usually how we did with stuff we didn't agree on. "Delsin, newly appointed life therapist, is helping Fetch...recover. Maybe she will come to be helpful in the future."

"In the big, bad battle?"

"Maybe." Reggie seemed annoyed, scooting back over to the computer and typing away suddenly, not saying anything more to me.

"Why are you annoyed with me already? I've been for less than ten minutes."

"I'm not annoyed with you."

"Oh, very convincing."

"But I'm starting to be."

I let out a chuckle, my small hands clamping down on his shoulders from behind him. Reggie was tense, like usual. I wondered if there was ever a moment when his shoulders were not tied up in knots. I squeezed a little, digging my fingers into his shoulders. "Relax, Reg, " I drawled out. "I'll be a big help, I swear." I let go of him, glancing over at the bathroom. "After I shower."

I was exhausted and, after walking through rainy Seattle, desperately wanted to feel hot water wrap around me.

"Towels are in there."

"Thanks." I walked toward the bathroom, peeling off my jacket and leaving it on the couch. I looked back at Reggie for a moment and realized only after we had finished fighting and making up how glad I was to be here.

...

I stayed up with Reggie for a long time, pulling the only other chair in the place to the computer to sit with him and look through Seattle, for core relays, which was a longer process than I expected.

I decided after a couple of hours, after my eyes kept drooping down that staring at the computer screens was making me more tired. I decided to lay down for a quick nap to recharge, which resulted in Reggie not waking me up and me falling into a deep sleep.

I woke up hours later, eyes first opening to the window facing the street. The sky was dark, but the city was not. There were signs everywhere, lighting things up in the most mesmerizing way. I laid there for at least a couple of seconds, just watching the cars and people go by on the street below.

I rolled over and sat up in the bed when I realized Reggie was on the phone.

_"- me and Fetch. The drugs are all gone. If you're looking for a high, it's at the bottom of the harbour."_

"I'll admit, I'm impressed," Reggie said.

_"Can I get that in writing?"_

Delsin.

I was already getting of of the bed, walking towards Reggie in his chair. I reached the phone that was sitting on the desk. "Is that Delsin?" I picked it up before Reggie could protest, turning around and walking the other way. "Del?"

_"Ah, Nita..." _Delsin started on the other line, sighing heavily. _"My favourite little rebel. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but weren't you supposed to stay somewhere? Oh, gosh, what is it? Starts with an S...rhymes with...tamon...ray..."_

I chuckled, sitting down on the bed. I watched Reggie turn around in his chair, looking at me, the most unimpressed. "I couldn't stay in Salmon Bay. Besides, Reggie has welcomed me here with open arms."

Reggie scoffed.

_"So I heard. Isn't that just like our Reggie?"_

"Tell what's going on. Reggie mentioned Fetch," I said lightly, hoping that Delsin would take it away. When he didn't say anything fast enough, I spoke again. "And that you've got her on the path of redemption, and also that you've picked up her abilities."

_"I don't mean to brag -"_ Of course he did. _"But my protégé has shown a lot of improvement. Murder is no longer on the agenda. We're going more for a...subduing plan."_

"Protégé? Wasn't she a Conduit way before you were?"

_"Details,"_ Delsin said dismissively.

"Seriously," I started, knowing we would only get halfway to serious. "What is she like? When you got her abilities, did you..._see_ something, like with the last guy?"

Delsin paused for a second, whether hesitation or maybe stepping away if this Fetch girl was close enough to hear. When he talked, his voice was near a whisper, so I suspected the latter. _"I saw a lot pain and a lot of loss. She's not...bad. She just needs to know there are other ways. I'm trying my best."_

I smiled. Though Delsin may have seemed very troubled, he had the biggest heart underneath his self-painted jean vest. "I know you are. I'm sure you're doing great." I glanced up at Reggie for a second and then quieted my voice also. "Is she pretty?"

_"I'm not answering that."_

I couldn't help the satisfied smirk that made way to my face. "I'll take that as a yes."

Reggie had heard every word and decided to comment from his chair. "This is not the sixth grade, girls locker room, Nita."

"My bad," I continued innocently. I could hear Delsin shuffling around on the other end and I realized that the conversation couldn't last forever. It was like a pain in my chest, hanging up the phone. "I'll let you get back to it - you know, saving the world."

_"Finally, someone who gets it," _Delsin said, overdramatic, as always. He then came back to his normal tome. _"I'll call you guys later, okay? Don't miss me too much."_

When we hung up, I left the phone sitting beside me as my body fell back onto the bed. I felt my body relax and sink into the bed. The relief from talking to Delsin, knowing that I was now close enough to help him made me feel a lot more at ease, but still not completely. It was too late to call back home, but I would call tomorrow and when the doctor was going to visit again in a couple of days.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm glad to be here," I said, sitting up a little only to crawl back into my spot that I had been taking a 'nap' in previously. "But worried about everyone back home. It was Betty who convinced me to come, you know."

"I'm not even a little surprised at that." Reggie got up from the chair, stretching his arms over his head and yawned. He took a second to stand straight and rub his face, like he was washing away the past however many hours he just spent staring at a computer screen.

Reggie usually never took his Sheriff jacket off, even when it was hot enough to, so to see him in his undershirt...I almost forgot how muscular he was, how _attractive _he was. I mean, I always knew, just sometimes I forgot.

"It's going to be all over the news tomorrow." He seemed a little worried.

"They can't possibly spin this in a bad light."

"Sure, they can," Reggie said, very confident. I didn't need the examples, but he starting listing them off. "They might make it a Bio-terrorist drug deal gone wrong, probably talk about all the damages, any casualties, even if they were drug king pins, they won't mention that."

It made me angry. That's exactly what the media would come out with and that's what the people were going to believe. Hell, if Delsin wasn't a Conduit, I probably would've believed it too. I just wished so badly that the people knew the truth.

"Maybe one day..." I started, already losing the optimism I had when starting the sentence. I tried again. "Maybe one day, everyone will coexist, and then it won't be a matter if the person's a Conduit, but just if they've broken the law, you know."

Reggie wasn't exactly one for false hope or optimism, but he did nod, probably for my benefit only. "Maybe." He grabbed the blanket laying lazily on the bed, holding it in his hands and staring down at it for a long second before he looked up at me again. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I never regretted putting you in charge. I shouldn't judge your decisions."

"But you think I should've made different ones."

Reggie opened his mouth to reply, jaw already set tight. He shook his head a little, blinking slowly. "Let's just not talk about."

I could feel the tenseness in him, just like it was mine. "You said it yourself, Reg, I'm all grown-up." Like I had said back, I had been grown up for a while. If Reggie was just seeing that now, maybe he needed time to adjust. "You have to let me make my own decisions, whether you like it or not." I tried to speak softly, as to not turn the conversation into another fight.

Reggie seemed too tired for it anyway, turning around with the blanket in his hands and walking towards the couch. "I know what I said," he repeated back lightly. "Just pass me a pillow."

I picked one up and waited until he turned to me to throw it. After he caught it, I raised my brows at him. "See. A non-grown-up would've thrown that at you when you weren't looking."

Reggie just laid down on the couch with his pillow and blanket. "Goodnight, Nita."

I laid down on the bed, my eyes feeling heavy as they closed. "Goodnight, Reggie."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from 'Infamous Second Son' pls dont sue

* * *

5...

I had spent the bulk of the morning sleeping and most of the afternoon sitting in front of the computers with Reggie, trying to get as much done as possible. After a few phone calls with Delsin, as well as losing track of time, Reggie headed out to follow a lead with his S.P.D buddy - very Holmes and Watson - and I was left in the apartment by myself, despite begging for him to let me come along.

"You want to help? Help, then, and stay here," is what Reggie had said to me. Touché.

After Reggie left, the apartment turned quiet. The curtains were open and so the setting sun was coming in through the windows, casting a calming glow over some of the room.

I set myself up on the computer as what Reggie had described to me as 'auto-pilot'. If you knew what to do, you could make the computer do all the work, and it would alert you if anything interesting came up.

I really wanted to lay on the bed and take a moment to relax. There was something about the city of Seattle, or maybe cities in general, that was tiring. In Salmon Bay, when it was night, everything was dark and quiet and...comfortable. In Seattle, when it was night, the city was still lit up and cars were honking. Reggie needed the windows open because he was a freak who needed it to be cold to sleep, so the noises were even worse. Reggie was a deep sleeper, lucky him, but I wasn't.

It was really no surprise that I was tired all day when I barely slept through the night.

I made myself a coffee, grabbed the blanket off the bed, opened the window all the way and got comfortable there. I had one leg hanging out the window and my other planted down on the floor inside, as to not literally fall to my death. The blanket encased me in warmth, which, somehow, made the coffee taste even better than before.

When my phone rang, I abandoned all comfort and raced across the room. I was still waiting on a call from the doctor. I didn't look at the caller ID before picking up. "Hello?"

_"Nita, is Reg there?"_

"No, he just ran out." A second of silence passed and I realized he was breathing heavily. My brows furrowed as I set my coffee cup down on the table. "Hey, what's going on?"

_"I had a, uh, well, I don't know if you could call it a run-in, really -"_

"Augustine?" I nearly choked as the name came out of my mouth, I was so in shock. "What happened? Are you okay? Did you -"

_"I didn't get her powers,"_ Delsin explained to me quickly to kill the suspense of the moment. I couldn't hide my immediate disappointment as I let out a small breath. I could sense Delsin was disappointed too. _"She shot me down pretty quickly. She wants me to stay here with her, she thinks I could be...a helping hand to her."_

I felt the heat all over my face at the mere sound of the idea. If she thought Delsin was going to help her in anyway after what she did to our tribe, she was not only evil, but completely delusional. "You're joking."

_"Not even a little."_

"Okay, so you obviously said no..." I tried to think in my head how that scenario could've played out. None of them were as good as the current one, and so I wondered - "How the hell did you get out of there alive?"

Delsin paused for a long second. _"I don't know."_

If he was trying to annoy me, he was doing a good job. "Playing dumb isn't cute, Del."

_"No? My bad..."_

"For real?"

_"I was literally - I'm not kidding here, Nita - picked up and carried away."_ It sounded so ridiculous, I couldn't respond quickly enough. _"I know how it sounds, but it was like a giant bird or something swooped in, picked me up, and dropped me off far away."_

"How..." I stuttered for a full couple of seconds, shaking my head to myself. "Why...I mean, you're the luckiest person on the planet, truly. You didn't feel like maybe hopping on the phone, letting me or Reggie know?"

_"Was kind of in a hurry, N."_

"I know you're too good for us now -" I joked. "But you really do have to call us."

_"Hey, you're joking now, but I think I'm really building a fan base here."_ Delsin had the ability to be so light-hearted and joking in every situation. Sometimes the sarcasm was inappropriate, but in some moments, it was needed to ease the tension. I felt a lot calmer as he spoke. _"First this guy claiming to be a D.U.P informant, giving me a little help from the inside -"_ A new development that Reggie was very much against. Delsin, of course, ignored his advice. _"And then this person coming to my rescue."_ Another strange occurrence.

The truth was, though, that Delsin really was stirring things up, at least in Seattle. He had Reggie, me, Fetch, this supposed D.U.P informant, and a mysterious giant bird on his side. That was something of a start for a rebellion, right?

"Don't let it go to your head," I told him. He was already pretty full of himself and I didn't want to be the one responsible for him getting an even bigger head.

Delsin huffed. _"Too late. I've already been practicing my autograph."_

I tried not to give him the benefit of laughing. "Well, maybe you could practice picking up the phone to call before life-threatening situations."

_"Yeah, yeah,"_ Delsin brushed off, and I wasn't sure if he had even heard me. _"Do you have any more locations on core relays, hidden cameras, etcetera?"_

I walked over to the dreaded computer. "Been working on it. I can send you what I've come up with, though it's not a lot."

_"Better than nothing."_

I sat down in the chair, and with a couple of clicks of the mouse, they were off and sent. "There you go. Be careful out there."

_"When am I not careful?"_

"Is that a real question?"

After hanging up the phone, I texted Reggie to update him and then I rested the phone against the desk and walked back over to the window. My coffee was a little bit colder, not as fantastic tasting as earlier, but still decently good.

I had just sat back down on the window sill when my phone rang once again. I left my lukewarm coffee and walked back over to my phone and picked it up. "Hello?"

_"Oh, she's there," _I heard someone - probably Anna - say a little ways away from the phone. There was some shuffling around and then I heard a different voice again on the phone. _"Hel - Hello? Miss Otoe?"_

"Yes, hi." I felt my heartbeat pick up in my chest. Finally, it was the call I was waiting for. "Is this Dr. Pam?"

_"Yes, it is."_ His voice was so professional, even after I made him that bad coffee back at the Longhouse. _"I've finished my assessment and was about to head home, but I remembered you wanted a phone call."_

_"I would've never let him leave without calling you, Nita!"_ It was Anna's voice again, a little distant, but still close enough for me to fully understand. I imagined she was standing only a few feet from the doctor, not aware of personal space. That sounded like Anna, and that was why I knew she would be perfect to leave in charge. She was very...attentive.

I held in my laughter and shifted on my feet. "How are things there?"

_"Everything is pretty well as the last time I was here. Vitals are good, though still no recoveries."_

I always tried to be realistic, but in my mind, I had hoped that when I picked up the phone, there would've been some miracle where everyone was better and recovered and healthy again. I hoped that me, Reggie, and Delsin could go back to the reserve and go back to the life we had.

I tried to be realistic, but I couldn't help to hope, even if it was crazy.

_"Miss Otoe?"_

I came back to reality. "I'm still here. And, Nita, please."

_"Nita,"_ he said, still hesitant on the informality. _"Stability, at this point, is really the only goal. As I've told you before, there is nothing that I can do for your people to heal. They are stable for now, but that it all. They are not getting better and they won't."_

"We're still working on -"

_"I'm sorry, Nita, but it's really a matter of time."_

Before I could register, my knees buckled slightly and I fell back onto the couch, sighing loudly into the phone. Embarrassed by that, I took the phone away from my face and put my hand over the speaker. I then let my head hang down for a long moment, feeling the stretch in my neck, as well as the tears in my eyes.

_"I'm sorry,"_ I heard from the phone. I held it loosely in my hand and listened to the doctor's sympathetic voice. _"Your community - your tribe seems really close, I'm sorry."_

I took just one more second. I thought of Reggie and how he would've handled this, and then I put the phone back to my ear and said, "Thank you for taking your time. Thank you for all you have done. I understand what you're telling me." That was as far as I got before a tear fell over my cheek and I sunk back into the couch, pulling my knees up to my chest. "Can we still book another appointment, please?"

_"I can do the same time, a week from today."_

"Thank you. Tell Anna that before you go, please." I had originally wanted to talk with Anna, but I wasn't sure how much longer I could've held it together.

There were a couple of small formalities and then I hung up the phone. The apartment was silent for a second while I was deep in my thoughts, and then I started to hear the cars again and the honking and the boats and all of the city noises.

I put my phone on the small table and then leaned back into the couch and listened to the city. The noises were the perfect distraction not to think about the entire situation and how shit the whole thing was. I wanted to not think for a long time, and then I was reminded again of reality when I heard the computer beeping. It was loud-ish, but slow and not alarming.

When I made it to the computer, it was nothing urgent, just the pin-pointed location of another core-relay; a red dot on a dark map. I sat down in the chair and worked on sending off the location to Delsin. I had just leaned away from the computer, considering it done, when Reggie walked through the front door.

"Hey." He walked inside, boots heavy on the floor. I could smell the city on him, and the closer he got, I realized his hair and pretty well ever other part of him was slightly damp. "Whole thing was a big waste of my time." He nodded to the computer. "Maybe you got something?"

"Just one more core relay," I said to him, watching him nod and then make his way to the kitchen. He started on a coffee. "I sent it off to Del, but didn't call. I talked to him this morning, did you get my text?"

He hadn't replied and I never trusted Reggie when it came to his phone. A call, he always answered - every single one. A text? That was a hit or miss situation.

"I got it. I guess Augustine's pulling the 'if I can't have him, no one can' card," Reggie said, turning around and leaning on the counter, steaming coffee in hand. "I can't believe she even suggested it, after everything thats happened."

I didn't know the situation fully and neither did Reggie, but I agreed; Augustine asked Delsin to stay with her to fight with her - no doubt he would've been an incredible asset, being able to absorb whatever power would be needed. Had she forgotten what she had done to Delsin and our tribe? Or was she so outside of herself that she had nothing left in her to care? I wondered what her story was. People weren't just born that evil.

"And then these other things -" Reggie continued, voice just as skeptical as always. "This guy who just happens to be a D.U.P informant - I don't buy it."

I tried to think in my head for a reasonable explanation. That seemed to be the new dynamic between me and Reggie. "People are starting to notice and starting to care. Maybe it really is what it is."

He shook his head slightly to disagree with me but not hurt my feelings. He sipped his coffee, despite it being way too hot. He was unfazed. "The 'picking up and flying away' thing, I don't know about that either..."

"Like I said, Reg, I think no one has stood up for the Conduits..." I paused to think about the whole situation and what was logical and then continued. "No one has really stood up to Augustine. People take notice of that. People want to help. Think of Fetch and -"

"Don't even get me started on that disaster."

I scoffed at his ignorance. "She's had it rough, but Del says she wants to help. When it comes down to it, despite all the things she's done, she's on Delsin's side and she'll help when the times comes. There has to be more like her, like this flying person, probably." I ended the argument a little weakly, but I was proud of myself.

I knew I had done a good job when all Reggie could do was stare at me, unresponsive. His gaze was steady and blank for a long moment. He took another sip of his boiling coffee and walked over to me at the computer, pulling up a chair. "Fine. We'll have it your way for now, but if all of this blows up in our faces, I'm blaming you."

I hoped it wouldn't. I had a good feeling about it.

...

Reggie and I had a late-night phone call with Delsin, only just a couple minutes or so when things cooled down after he tried to take down D.U.P convoys transporting imprisoned conduits across Seattle. We had learned that he was successful in that attempt, but also that he had help with that.

_"I don't know it was like they were...angels. That's what the D.U.P's were calling them when they were attacking."_

"Angels?" Reggie asked again to confirm that bizarre claim. We believed him, of course, but it didn't make it any less weird. "And you said you _didn't _hit your head, right?"

_"Oh, you're hilarious, Reggie. In fact, you're so funny that I -"_

"Alright," I interrupted, giving a look to the brother I was able to, just to let him know to cut it out so that the conversation could actually continue. "You said they were helping you defeat the D.U.P, but you don't know why or how or...really anything about them."

_"All I know is that they look like, I don't know..."_ Delsin paused to try his best at describing them. _"They look almost exactly like those swords I told you about in the D.U.P vehicles, almost pixilated, like they're from a video game, but I'm watching it in real life."_

_"It has to be one of the escaped conduits,"_ I said to him, sure he was already thinking the same thing. _"Maybe the can...make video game characters or something...or maybe just angels, or maybe -"_

"We can't say for sure," Reggie reminded me quickly, probably just not wanting to hear me go on.

_"That'd be a pretty sweet power. I'm even a little jealous."_

So that was the first interesting tid-bit of information from that call. As for the second...

I would forever remember the look on Reggie's face when Delsin told us that he had received a call from a 'fan' - Delsin's words, not mine - expressing to him that he was proud of the work Delsin was doing to the conduits and for the city and that wanted to help.

That was pretty well everything I had said would happen, I had just made the mistake of saying it to Reggie, who was hard-pressed to believe it. And so the look on Reggie's face when Delsin called and explained, I would always remember. I would also always remember hanging up the phone and having to get some sort of acknowledgment out of Reggie. It took a little while, but I got what I wanted.

"Say it!"

Reggie sighed loudly, eyes closing for a brief moment. He opened them and looked at me; always the unimpressed. "You're the best and smartest in the entire world and I never should've doubted you, Nita."

Now, those were my words.

After we passed the stage of me gloating, we sat down at the computer and downloaded the app Delsin's 'fan', Eugene, had sent to him. It was an app that basically allowed you to tap into D.U.P radioes using radio signals, allowing us to know what they were talking about and _where _they were talking about it. Eugene had _made _the app, which had impressed me a lot.

The way Delsin described him on the phone, as well as his name, I pictured a skinny kid sitting at a computer. I didn't know if that was right or not, but I knew that he was smart. It made me proud of Delsin that he could inspire this kind of support, even if it was maybe making his head bigger than it already was.

We had downloaded the app and Reggie and I had been sitting at the computer, just listening ever since. We listened so that Delsin didn't have to. Delsin would tell us if he wanted us to listen for something specific and we would tell him if anything sounding important came up. A lot of it was useless to us, some of it just chatter and not business at all. I thought we weren't ever going to get anything until -

_"No results still with the questionings in Salmon Bay."_

_"Keep an eye out for the brother - Reginald Rowe. He's not on the reservation, which means he's still in the city, unknown location, but he's playing a big role in all of this. He'd be good leverage if we got him."_

It was automatic for my hand to move over to Reggie's arm, squeezing a little too tightly for his comfort. Still, he let me squeeze once he saw how my face was all wrinkled up and worried.

_"Copy that. We've already have a team on the ground and in the sky on the lookout. Should we expand our search, sir?"_

_"Expand? Please elaborate, soldier."_

_"For the other accounted missing from the reserve, sir. Aren't we looking for the girl as well? Nita Otoe?"_

My grip loosened on Reggie's arm. I felt my own mouth move open slightly, just so that I could make sure that I was definitely still alive and breathing and actually hearing this.

_"Yes, soldier, the team in place should be sufficient. We can revisit the idea of expanding in a couple of days if the team proves unsuccessful."_

_"Copy that, sir."_

They were looking for both of us, and as leverage, not as whatever else they would've had planned. I started to feel my breath pickup and my heart beating faster. I could feel it in the tips of my fingers. If they got us - me or Reggie, or both - Delsin would've stopped everything if it meant keeping us safe, and probably alive, if it came to that. I didn't want that. I didn't want all of it to be for nothing just because me and Reggie had D.U.P's holding guns to our heads.

"Nita." Reggie's strong voice came into my head swirling with thoughts. His hand came to my shoulder, rubbing gently, and it brought me back to the two us sitting at the computer. "Nita, look at me."

I didn't want to. I didn't want to hear how he was right about how I never should've come and how I was stupid to leave the reservation and how it was so dangerous in Seattle and -

"Hey," Reggie said again, the command in his voice forcing me to look his way, almost by habit. But his demeanour was anything but harsh and commanding. He used his hand on his shoulder to gently tug me forward into him.

Again, like it was automatic, I wrapped my arms around him. He was still just slightly damp, but it didn't bother me because his embrace was so comforting. Almost immediately, my heartbeat started to slow as I took a couple of calm breaths. A couple minutes passed like that, in silence, until Reggie spoke again.

"Me and Delsin won't let anything happen to you. We have your back."

"We have to have his too," I said into Reggie's shoulder, half-hoping he wouldn't hear it, but he did.

He put his hand on my shoulders to push me away from him so that he could look me in the eye. "What is that supposed to mean?" His dark, thick brows were creased in a worried way as he searched my face for an answer. "Hey -" He made sure I didn't look away. "If anything happens, you don't do anything, okay? You don't say anything, you don't do _anything_. It's not your job to save the world."

"A little dramatic, Reggie," I told him, leaning as far from him as my chair would let me. "Besides, aren't we trying to help do pretty much exactly that?" I wouldn't have said 'save the world', but maybe Seattle and Salmon Bay. "Or at least help Delsin do it?" I thought seriously for a second. If it came down to Delsin saving me or Seattle, I knew what I would've wanted him to pick. "If it came down to it - I mean, Delsin's worked so hard to do all of this, it can't just be for noth -"

"No," Reggie interrupted, like he didn't want to hear me say I would sacrifice myself, even though I pretty well already had. He was shaking his in disbelief, anger, frustration... "You can't. Delsin wouldn't."

I shrugged, not wanting to come on too heavy when I said, "In that moment, I don't know. I think he would know what has to be d-"

"Stop," Reggie interrupted again, holding up his hands a little ways. When they fell down on his lap, he pushed himself away from the computer, stood up and took a couple of slow steps away. "Just stop talking about it."

I wasn't sure why Reggie was being so hard on me. I was almost positive he would do the same thing in that situation - sacrificing himself for Seattle, Salmon Bay, and Delsin. When it came to Delsin, Reggie would do anything. He was his family. He loved him, but so did I. Why wasn't I allowed to do for Delsin what Reggie would?

"Reg..." My voice was soft as I stood from my chair. I hoped that he would let me get close enough to touch him. I took a couple of steps close to him, but I could see how tense he was. "I don't want anything to happen to you or Delsin -"

Reggie turned around, voice deep and little bit loud. "This is why I didn't want you to be here. I told you it wasn't safe, I told you I didn't want you to be here and you came anyway, and now you're talking about -" He paused, shaking his head slowly, dark eyes boring into my own. "You're talking about things I never wanted to hear come out of your mouth."

"As if you're not thinking the same thing." I had lost my soft tone and gained a little confidence, taking a couple more steps closer. "You would do anything for Delsin, why can't I?"

Reggie was red in the face just like me, body tense, just like mine. "Because you just can't!"

The response was so comical, I had to laugh, though it came out bitter because I was still so angry with him. "That's complete bullshit! You can't even come up with anything because there's _no_ reason that -"

"Because -" Reggie said loudly. I hadn't realized we had made out way so close to each other until Reggie reached out and put both of his hands on the side of my face. His hands were cold compared to my hot face and it even cooled me down a little. Once he saw that I was calming, he spoke with a quieter, more even tone. "Because I need you, Nita, alive. I need you alive."

With his hands on my face, I wanted to close my eyes, let myself relax, but it wouldn't change everything we had said. I felt a feeling in my stomach I wasn't used to as I looked over his eyes, nose, lingering on his lips for a long moment. My eyes looked back up to his and I reached up to pull his hands away from my face. "I..." I didn't know what to say. I felt like I couldn't think all of the sudden.

Reggie took a big step away from me, chest moving from his deep breaths. "I'm exhausted. We should call it a night."

Seemed like Reggie couldn't do anymore thinking or talking either.

I didn't nod or say anything, I just walked over to the bed and fell down on top of it. The bed was not as comforting as Reggie, but it did make me incredibly tired. I reached down and pulled the covers over top of myself, looking toward the slightly opened window. I listened as Reggie shuffled around for a long while, finally laying down on the couch to sleep.

Reggie, despite everything that had just happened, was snoring within a couple of minutes of laying down.

I stayed awake for a really long time, listening to the city and wishing we were home.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from 'Infamous Second Son' pls dont sue

* * *

6...

I was at the computer again that afternoon, finishing my second cup of coffee. I wasn't feeling tired after the full mugs, but I had slept terribly the night before, and not just because Seattle was loud as usual.

Reggie had slept on the couch and I had slept on the bed, not unlike the usual, but what was unusual is that it was just...tense. The way we left things after that little blowout was not how we usually left things; completely fixed up and ready to move on. To be fair, none of our previous arguments had ever been on this level of seriousness. Still, it bothered me more than I thought it would that me and Reggie hadn't 'made up', if you wanted to put it that way.

From the moment we woke up, we didn't speak much. And so when Reggie told me he was going out this morning, we just said our goodbyes and not much else. I wished that I had said more or told him to be careful.

I worried about Delsin, and since learning that the D.U.P was actively looking for me and Reggie too, I worried about Reggie. I wished I had told him not to go and that this was risky, considering everything, but it was too late for that.

In a nutshell, I felt awful, and I just hoped that everything would go smoothly and that Reggie would walk back into the apartment in one piece.

After Delsin had pretty much destroyed those convoys carrying imprisoned Conduits, they were pretty much running ramped around the city. Delsin thought he'd easily round them up, get some somewhere safe, but it sounded like it wasn't going to be as easy as he thought...

_"Trying to round up these escaped conduits has been quite the hassle, I have to say."_

"Oh?" I was almost amused by that, and even more so by Delsin admitting he was having a hard time. "What's that supposed to mean?"

_"Well, my angel friends - I **thought **we were friends, but it turns out, they're making this into a competition. Every time I get even kind of close to one of the conduits, they swoop in and take them. I mean, give a guy a break, right?"_

"Take them where?"

_"I don't know. They're pretty damn fast,"_ Delsin said, admitting another unfortunate defeat. It didn't surprise me at all when he said, _"I need this guys power; whoever this guy is that's creating the angels."_

It did seem the superior power, though Delsin already had smoke and neon...

"A little greedy, don't you think?"

_"Oh, I don't know. Smoke and neon are getting kind of old,"_ he joked. I had to assume he was joking. I didn't think having powers - any kind - would get old. _"Seriously, though, this power would really help me with Augustine. The more, the better, and this one is pretty good."_

"You said it yourself, Del, you can't keep up," I reminded him and then I glanced back at the empty bed behind me. "Did Reg call you? He said he was going down to the lantern district for something and that he would find you if you were still there."

_"Yeah, he's headed my way. Any minute now."_

That made me feel a little bit better and somehow a little worse simultaneously. "Good. I'm sure the two of you can think of something. You guys are pretty smart when you're together."

_"Jeez, Nita, I get it. You're secretly and deeply in love with me."_

"I'm gonna hang up now." But before I did, I said, "And Del?"

_"Yes, best friend?"_

"Be careful." I had said it a million times before, and I was saying it again. I couldn't ever say it enough, in my opinion. "That goes for both of you. Call me as soon as you guys have an update, okay?"

_"Roger that."_

I left the phone exactly where it was on the counter after hanging up. I tapped the desk with my finger, slowly letting my anxieties take over. I looked over at the window, focusing on feeling the cool air from outside. It did make me feel a little bit better, like I thought it would, and that only made me more desperate to get outside.

I could be careful, just like Reggie was. Of course, Reggie was older and wiser than I was, but not by a whole lot, if I was being easy on myself. I could manage getting out of the apartment and not causing or stirring up any trouble, I was sure.

If I had mentioned that to Delsin, he probably would've agreed, but told Reggie someway, somehow, and Reggie would've definitely not been that supportive.

I didn't mention to Delsin on the phone, Reggie was out with Delsin, both of whom were working on their own thing that would take a while, I assumed, and I was sitting in the apartment, feeling nervous and stuck.

Seemed a little unfair.

I decided I wasn't going to make any decisions as I walked over to the small backpack I had packed when coming to Seattle. I checked for sneakers, even though I knew they were in there, and clothes that would be comfortable if I were to, I don't know, theoretically, go for a jog or something.

Everything lined up. I was working up the courage to go outside and not be afraid of D.U.P's, as well as making sure that I was on high-alert at all times. Delsin didn't know, Reggie wasn't here, it just all came together.

I put the computer on Reggie's self-described 'auto-pilot', made sure I had my phone on me, made sure I had the apartment keys on me, locked the door and left. As soon as I was on the pavement, I started a jogging pace.

In Salmon Bay, my jogs were surrounded by great, big, pine trees and total and complete silence, with the exception of the occasional bird or snapping twig. In Seattle, I had to dodge people and block out the sound of construction. Significantly less relaxing, but the feeling of the air through my thick strands of hair, it hitting my face and any other part of me that was exposed, was just a perfect.

I wanted to be outside forever. The thought of going back to the apartment and sitting there was not ideal, but ultimately, the most realistic. I told myself the jog would be short, but I kept running, not in any confusing directions, as to not lose my way, but still. I was running for a long time.

The city was more beautiful than it was from just the apartment window, but there was still destruction everywhere. Bridges collapsed, parts of buildings missing. Just like when I first was walking through the city when I came, the destruction wasn't so obvious that Seattle was unliveable, but it was absolutely noticeable.

I wondered if it made the people of Seattle sad. I'm sure they had their own opinions formed by the people they saw as 'the good guys', telling them that the D.U.P's and Augustine had no choice because of the conduits, and so it was really the conduits fault.

I rounded a corner as my slightly faster pace, looking for cars in the other direction - big mistake. I ran into a large body, big and wide and hard, although when I looked up, I realized it was not so much a body as a suit; black and yellow and bulky, with three letters painted on the yellow shoulder pads...D.U.P.

He had a black mask on, but somehow, his voice came through quite clear. "Clearance?"

"What?" I asked, only realizing then that I could feel my heartbeat in my ears.

"Do you have clearance, miss? You're in a restricted area."

I looked around briefly, seeing that I had pretty much just made it into a crack between the orange barricades put up around the area I was currently standing in. I looked back at the D.U.P officer, wishing I could see his facial expression, hoping it wasn't one of recognition. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize," I told him, already taking a couple of steps back. "In the zone," I added, accompanied by some seriously awkward and uncomfortable laughter by myself. I turned around, wanting to get out as fast as -

"Miss?"

I paused. I felt every part of my freeze up and tense. It took everything in my to even turn around, where I saw the officer holding out a very familiar set of keys to me. My shoulders dropped as they relaxed and I took the keys from him. "Thanks."

I turned and I jogged for the first couple of seconds until I was around the corner again, and then I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. All the way back to the apartment, I was apologizing for nearly running into people and looking over my shoulder to make sure no one was following. I could see the apartment from across the street when I nearly went into cardiac arrest at the sound of my phone ringing.

I stopped quickly, leaning against the building and checking the Caller ID; Reggie. I started to take deep breaths to steady myself. I didn't want it to sound like I had just ran as fast as I could for ten minutes across town to get away from the very people I was trying to avoid. I didn't want to raise any suspicions.

I took one final, calming breath and then answered on the tail-end of the last ring. "Hello?"

_"What, were you napping? You just barely answered."_ If I hadn't of looked at the Caller ID, I would've known it was Reggie from that delightful greeting alone.

"Hello to you, too," was my response.

_"You never would've guessed,"_ Reggie said suddenly. It sounded like he had his own shortness of breath, like he was walking briskly. _"Delsin's fanboy Eugene is a conduit himself. He's been the one sitting at his little computer, sending out the angels to grab all the escaped conduits."_

Reggie was right, I never would've guessed, but it wasn't like it didn't make sense. I still needed to the details though.

"Back up a sec. How do you know this? How did you follow the angels?"

_"Well...well, I got dressed up in the Conduit prisoner uniform, hoping one of the angels would snatch me up and Delsin could follow the GPS on my phone."_

My eyebrows rose. A little bit of a crazy plan. "And did they _snatch _you up?"

_"Yes,"_ Reggie answered simply, seeming a little bothered by my even asking. The image alone made me start to smile, as well as the thought of Reggie being a little embarrassed. Reggie said, _"I know you're smiling, Nita, cut it out."_

"What?" I tried, but you could tell that I still was smiling. I let myself laugh for a second and then I put my hand on my mouth briefly, hoping to force the smile down. "So that angel snatches you up -" God, that was good. "And takes you where?"

_"That's the other thing, Nita. The angel took me to those big TV screens on the corners of the buildings in the district, you know to advertise. They were using them as portals. Thankfully, Delsin got me down before I could be taken away to god knows where."_

"So...video...power?"

_"That's what Delsin calls it."_

My heart jumped. "Wait, he got it?" That meant he actually got to Eugene and got his power. I wondered almost immediately what Delsin saw when he touched him. I wondered, like Fetch, what the story was there.

_"He got it. After it all, he got a little panicked, saying he lost all of his powers, so we've been running around the city, looking for those core relays. He seemed all set up after a couple of them, so I'm headed back your way now."_

"Were you there?" I thought back to how Reggie had described the meeting with Fetch - not exactly pretty.

_"Where?"_

"When Eugene and Delsin met?"

_"Yeah."_

"What did you do?"

_"It sounds like you're accusing me."_

"Reggie, I just want to know what went down, okay?"

_"Well, I wanted to arrest Eugene, of course -"_

Of course! "What, why?" I interrupted. I had hoped that this time would've gone smoother, but I wasn't too attached to the idea, knowing Reggie. "You don't know - did Delsin tell you anything about - I mean, do you know anything about Eugene?"

"_Delsin just told me about these...visions, flashbacks, whatever he has been seeing, when he got Eugene's abilities. He was bullied in school, snapped one day, Augustine came and picked him up. Same thing with smoky and Fetch about being experimented on while they were there. He took his chance to escape when that truck went down on the reserve. He's been here in Seattle, just like Fetch, causing trouble ever since."_

"It's not like Fetch. It wasn't murder, even if it was murder with good intentions." I know Reggie hated seeing it that way, but Fetch was getting rid of the drug dealers killing and wreaking havoc all over Seattle. "Besides, Delsin really helped Fetch out, I'm sure he could do the same for Eugene."

_"You're a little late to the party, Nita, but you'll be happy to hear I did not arrest Eugene for kidnapping -"_ Kidnapping, as in taking the escaped Conduits and probably making sure they were taken somewhere safe, just without their consent. _"And him and Delsin are probably running around right now, picking daisies and singing Kum Ba Yah. You happy?"_

More realistically, Delsin was helping Eugene the way he helped Fetch, while also helping other people - probably the escaped Conduits in this case.

"Very." I finally relaxed, my back hitting the cold, brick wall. I remembered I was still outside and I quickly stood to make my way inside the apartment. "How far are you right now?"

_"Just coming up on the street."_

I looked down the hallway at the staircase and started running toward it. "See you in a few, then!" I hung up the phone, slipping it into my pocket, running up the stairs, getting inside, and closing the apartment door behind me. I quickly changed, putting the dirtied sneakers back into my backpack. I sat down a the computer, adapting a casual, 'I've been here for the past hour, what are you talking about?' kind of pose.

When Reggie came back into the apartment, he was too busy being slightly hunched over, hand on his back, telling me about how his drop from the angel was not the greatest thing he had felt.

I realized his shortness of breath on the phone was not a brisk walk, but soreness in his body, which only made me want to laugh more, which Reggie got annoyed at me for, of course.

Reggie tried to play it off - tough guy - but decided that he was going to spend some good quality time with the bed, resting up.

I just stayed at the computer, trying to keep my quiet giggles to myself.

...

I didn't want to get out of the shower. The water was so warm and it wrapped around me in a way that was so comforting and welcoming and inviting. Also, Reggie and I still hadn't 'made up', and so I had taken a shower for the purpose of putting some space between us so that I could think.

I didn't do too much thinking as the shower was wonderfully distracting, and by the time the hot water was running out, I was done anyway. I got out of the shower, changed and sat on the edge of the tub, brushing my long hair out for a while.

When I walked out of the bathroom, I was braiding my wet hair back and away from my face. I saw that Reggie was sitting at the computers, two screens with the map and one with the news. Reggie was dialling on his phone.

"Got something?"

Reggie looked over his shoulder at me, his eyes briefly scanning over me before returning to his phone. "Something's not sitting right with me. The news - it's just sketchy."

"Wow, a sketchy, maybe biased news source?" I felt the influence of Delsin's sarcasm still rubbing off on me after all these years. "Never heard of that."

Reggie ignored me as the dial tone came through the speaker of the phone. It was only a matter of seconds before Delsin picked up and said, _"Why, hello there."_

He sounded pretty relaxed for someone always caught in the crossfire. I didn't even know if you could call it crossfire anymore, because the D.U.P was shooting _at_ Delsin.

Before I went into the shower, Delsin had called to let us know that, with Eugene's help, he had successfully freed the escaped Conduits being held captive yet again, but this time by the Akuran gang in the International district. They had been planning to sell the Conduits back to the D.U.P. Classy. Delsin and Eugene put an end to that.

I thought Delsin might've had time to just sit and relax for maybe an hour, but I had showered for only ten minutes or so, and now Delsin had something else to do.

"Delsin. Are you near a TV?" Reggie asked.

_"Ever since Eugene, I try to stay close."_

"News reported an explosion at the tower, then immediately retracted. Try to find a good vantage point to scope things out."

_"Will do, big bro."_

As soon as Reggie hung up, I walked over to him, finishing my braid and then putting my hand on the back of his chair, watching the TV with the news on it with him.

The well-dressed man on the TV, hands folded on the desk stiffly in front of him said, "- and all of Seattle P.D are being moved out of the waterfront area. We have no cameras on the scene yet."

"You think they're trying to hide something?"

"It has to be something for them to just pretend it didn't happen right after." Reggie looked up at me behind him briefly and then scooted his chair toward the desk a little bit.

My hand fell off the back of his chair and I looked at him for a long moment, just staring at the back of his head. I felt a pain inside my chest for a brief moment, but tried to ignore it as I sat in the chair next to him. "I guess we won't know until Delsin calls back."

"Probably not."

I nodded, looking over the map, just to do _something _other than sit there in the slightly awkward silence. I was pretending to be super interested in the map where nothing was happening when Reggie's phone chirped. Reggie pressed the 'answer' button really quickly, effectively cutting off the awkward silence.

"Hey."

_"Reg, you're right. They're scrambling, but no one's firing."_

"And now they're ordering all Seattle P.D. out of an area near the waterfront. Must be something they don't want _anyone _to see."

_"Hope they don't mind if I take a look."_

They definitely did, but I was sure Delsin didn't give a care in the world about that.

"It sounds like they've carpeted the group with APC's." That stood for something I couldn't remember, but I did remember Reggie explaining an APC to me as basically an armoured vehicle the D.U.P used.

"You better stick the sky, then," I said, offering advice I'm sure he already knew.

In the most Delsin tone, he said back, _"You worry too much." _There was then a long moment of pause and then the sound of whipping wind. It must've been nice to have powers that basically allowed you to fly. _"Hey, guys, I ever tell you how great the views are from up here?"_

I looked at Reggie briefly, shaking my head and then I said into the phone, "No one likes a bragger."

"Besides," Reggie added. "You should keep your eyes on the prize. Sight-seeing later, yeah?"

Delsin hummed for a long second, something he did when he was really focusing. _"Doesn't seem to be anyone around, but there's scorch marks everywhere. Looks like my handiwork."_

It never had crossed my mind that there could be multiple of one, but it also never crossed my mind that there couldn't. "Are you saying another smoke conduit?"

_"Sure looks that way."_

Thinking about the smoke, how Henry Daughtry - the conduit who made the escape possible, who basically had started all of this. He gave Delsin smoke, though maybe _gave _was a strong word, and then Augustine encased him.

I thought for just the smallest second of how life would've been if the truck with Hank, Fetch, and Eugene just drove past our little Akomish reservation. None of this would've happened. Delsin would be normal, all of us would be. Augustine would also continue her tyranny and suffering with no one challenging her.

"Shouldn't surprise you," Reggie said to Delsin. "That's there's not just one of each."

_"Yeah, I know,"_ Delsin said, sounding almost...disappointed. _"I guess I was just hoping for something new."_

Reggie's brows furrowed as he used the mouse to find where Delsin was on the map. "Show me what you mean by 'handiwork'."

Not even a minute later, a photo came up on Reggie's phone, both of us leaning over the device simultaneously. I didn't look too long, not after seeing the hole inside the D.U.P officers chest. I leaned away, swallowing hard.

I couldn't help but to think it was like how not every Conduit was a murdering psychopath who needed to be chained up; maybe not every D.U.P officer was the scum of the earth. Some of them were maybe married, had children, brothers or sisters...

It made me glad Delsin was not out there killing, but just subduing. It also reminded me that there were bad people out there, Conduit or not.

Reggie was still leaning over the photograph. Being a cop, he was more immune to stuff like that, though he still looked and sounded uncomfortable. "Wow. So that's what it looks like when you...I've avoided looking up close."

_"Hey, man, they'd do the same thing to me." _A harsh, true statement. _"Wait, I hear another one..."_ Delsin's voice quieted for a long couple of seconds as we waited for him to speak. _"It's just a helmet."_

"A D.U.P helmet? Still working?"

It sounded like Delsin had picked up the helmet, as whatever was coming out of it got stronger and louder, clear enough for me and Reggie to hear every word.

Whoever was radioing the helmet said, _"Situation team, respond. Situation team, respond. We've reacquired Daughtry, east of your 40. Situation team, respond."_

Daughtry? Henry Daughtry? Hank?

"Did he just say -" I started, but became startled about halfway through my sentence. I had witnessed, very traumatized, the dude getting incased in concrete by Augustine. How was it possible that he was in Seattle, fighting the D.U.P?

_"Oh, he did just say."_ Delsin sounded almost as shocked as I was. _"This rogue Conduit, they're saying it's Hank!"_

And Reggie, too, also shocked. "I thought she killed him back in Salmon Bay."

_"She did! Or...I thought she did. I mean, I saw her kill him. I mean, he's dead, I'm sure of it."_ Despite saying he was 'sure of it', he didn't sound too confident in the wobbly, stuttering statement.

Reggie didn't have much back to that. He looked at me, a little frustrated with how confusing the situation was. All he had was, "Just keep looking." Reggie then leaned back and pushed the phone away while letting out a big sigh.

I spoke with a slightly lowered voice. I was sure Delsin would really listen in if he cared and I didn't mind, but I didn't want to blatantly say Delsin was clearly and obviously wrong. "I don't think the D.U.P. would misidentify someone, but then how is that even possible? We _all_ saw when she..." I shrugged.

Reggie shook his head, mouth tight. "I have no clue how, but if this really is him, this bad news. This is the guy who the planned escape, who started all of this." Reggie voice was less quiet than mine and more intense. "I don't know if Delsin will be able to do the same thing he did with Abigail and Eugene for this guy."

_"Okay, you two, I'm gonna admit it..."_ Delsin's voice came through the phone, and the said the words Reggie most liked to hear. _"I was wrong."_ A second later we got a picture of a file on the dirty Seattle ground, Hank's picture sticking out with his name written on it, clear as day. _"That's for you to keep, Reg. A little early Christmas gift for you."_

"Am I supposed to say thank you?"

I laughed at that, the two of them, and said to Delsin, "It's good to stay humble, Del." I looked at the photo on Reggie's phone. "So he's around, but obviously not where you are."

_"Hold on, I got a call waiting. I know, I'm so popular."_ Reggie and I did hold on for only a few minutes. Delsin came back on the line, sounding like he was already on the move again. _"Fetch is watching somebody quote-unquote 'smoke the hell out of some D.U.P. choppers' on a roof down near Twelfth and Union."_

"Alright, but listen to me - don't let the D.U.P. catch him. And don't let them kill him either," Reggie said quickly and then continued on just as fast, like he couldn't say it to Delsin fast enough. "And don't you kill him, but _don't _let him get away."

_"Jeez, man, that's a lot to remember."_

"You've got good short-term memory," I told him for reassurance. That was half-true, but probably a confidence booster?

_"Gee, thanks, Nita,"_ he replied, sickeningly sweet. _"I'm on the roof."_

"And Hank?" Reggie asked, still eager.

_"Uh...isn't."_

"What, you lost him?"

_"No, I didn't lose -"_ Delsin started quickly. He had the same affliction as Reggie; not quick to admit defeat. _"I'm just keeping my distance."_

"What, on purpose?" The look on Reggie's face was like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

_"He can practically fly, man."_

Now I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "So can you!"

"Yeah, in three languages," Reggie added, and he wasn't wrong. Smoke, neon, video. That would be the three, and that was two more that he had that Hank did not. "Just don't lose him."

_"Thanks for the reminder,"_ Delsin sang back.

"And watch out for the D.U.P."

_"Excellent advice!"_

Both of those were self-explanatory. I think it was just the fact that this was a man that we thought was dead that had Delsin and Reggie a little worked up. I was too, but I was a lot better at pretending than they were.

"Put on those headphones," Reggie told me, setting it up the 911 switchboard on one of the computer screens for me to listen in.

I slid the headphones over my ears. It was crazy and jumbled with plenty of calls coming in at once.

_"A Bio-terrorist has been causing trouble around the -"_

_"He's been shooting at choppers and -"_

_"He's on foot, making his way to -_

_"Going towards the Lantern District -"_

_"In Hing May Market -"_

Sounded like that was where Hank was headed.

Over all of the voices coming in through my ears, I managed to repeat just the essentials to Reggie, still holding the headphones tightly over my ears. "Lantern District, Hing May Market." I watched as Reggie mouthed those words into the phone to Delsin.

I still had my hands over the headphones, holding them tight against my ears, listening to the sound of many panicked people when I looked over at Reggie talking into the phone, looking worried.

I took the headphones off, watching as he redialed Delsin's number. "What happened?"

Reggie stared at the phone as it dialed. "Said he was getting close and then he just hung up. I mean, I'm sure _he _didn't hang up the phone, but I'm hoping I'm wrong." There was no answer and Reggie looked even more frustrated than before. "Damnit."

"Hey, hey -" I rested my hand on his stiffened shoulder. "Delsin will explain that he doesn't want to hurt him and that he just wants him on his side. They have a common enemy in Augustine, I'm sure Hank will be all for it. He has no reason to hurt Delsin."

I had said it without thinking about it, but it all came out making perfect sense. In the process of calming Reggie, I had calmed myself as well.

Well, Reggie wasn't completely convinced.

Reggie shook his head, glancing at the phone once more before leaning back into his chair turning to face me. "I know that sounds like best case scenario, but I don't like it. I don't like _him_."

"Just because he planned the escape doesn't make him a bad guy, it just makes him the most desperate."

Reggie's brows furrowed at me. "And you don't think that's bad news? Being desperate?"

"No," I said honestly. If anything, being desperate was the strongest motivator in the world. Besides, we were desperate too, I had to remind Reggie. "We're desperate, aren't we? Desperate to get to Augustine so that we can get back Salmon Bay and help get everyone back to normal. Wouldn't you say you're pretty desperate to make sure our tribe is safe?"

Reggie looked confused at first and then that expression came to his face like he was proud, which made me feel like he had slapped a gold-star on my forehead. "Oh, I get, you're not just an adult, you're a smart adult."

I smiled, it growing bigger as the seconds passed that Reggie was looking at me the way he was. "Well, keep going," I teased, half-serious. I really enjoyed hearing compliments from Reggie, more than anyone else.

"Don't push it," he told me back. He didn't give out compliments too often and it was usually a one at a time kind of deal.

Reggie's phone rung. We both reached for it at the same time to answer, Reggie's finger hitting the button just a second before mine did. When the line connected, both Reggie and I sighed heavily in relief and Reggie was the first to speak.

"Delsin, thank god." First it was relief, and then once he knew that his brother was alive and well, it was anger. "You disappeared on me!"

With a comforting hand on Reggie's back, I spoke into the phone. "What happened, Delsin?"

_"I thought I caught Hank on the roof...and then next thing I know, I wake up with a sore stomach and my phone lying next to me with Hank's number in it. It was like high school graduation all over again, except that time I woke up in my underwear and the girl who put her number in my phone was a lot better looking than Hank."_

So Hank knocked Delsin out and then put his number in his phone. A little strange, but I thought that was maybe a good sign that he was going to be friendly. "He put his number in? Well, did you talk to him?"

_"Yeah, he wants to work with us to get to Augustine."_

Just like Reggie had said to me, he voiced concern when Delsin mentioned it. "No, I'm not so sure that's a good idea, man."

_"Come ooooon,"_ Delsin drawled out. It reminded me of when Delsin and I were scrawny teenagers asking Reggie for rides. We used to say it the same way. _"You know what, big brother, you worry too much. Nita, tell him he worries too much."_

"Or maybe you just don't worry enough," Reggie countered. It was maybe a little valid, but I still wasn't getting in the middle of it. "Listen, be careful. And watch your back."

_"You worry too much..."_

"Not enough."

I would've said something else, but Reggie already covered the 'be careful' routine and I was satisfied enough. When Reggie hung up the phone, I stood from the chair and stretched myself out a little, causing a yawn to rise up and come out.

Now that the whole Hank situation was at least kind of sorted and stable, my body was allowed to be sleepy.

"You should get some rest," Reggie said to me, looking a little concerned from his spot at the desk. He looked a little tired too, a little dark under the eyes and messy in the hair, but not extreme.

"You should too, Reg."

He nodded, but he was turning back to the computer and reaching for the mouse. He was facing the computer screen again when he said, "Yeah, I will in a bit."

"Reg, don't stay up all night." I walked closer again, putting my hands on his shoulders and squeezing. I could see in the reflection of one of the computers that he had closed his eyes as I felt him lean into my touch.

I didn't know what it was. I had never touched Reggie so much in my life. To be fair, we had never argued this much this often either. And even though things were still maybe a little bit tense...it didn't make me care any less for him, or his sleep patterns for that matter. It was just the whole situation - this entire thing that was bringing out these things in both of us.

"Yeah, yeah, I will, I swear," he said dismissively.

I let go of him and made it to the bed, getting under the covers and pulling them over me comfortably. I felt on my neck, with my head on the pillow, that my hair was still wet, which was a little uncomfortable. I was a little too tired to let it bother me. "Goodnight," I said to Reggie, still clicking away at the computer.

"Goodnight, Nita."

"Goodnight, Reggie," I said again. I just wanted to bug him a little bit.

"I'm not playing this game with you."

Sufficiently annoyed, I could fall right to sleep, which I did.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from 'Infamous Second Son' pls dont sue

* * *

7...

Morning turned into afternoon which turned into the sun setting quickly and very silently. Neither of us had brought up that very intense conversation from a couple of days ago, but it was still fresh in my mind like it had happened just a couple of minutes ago. Judging by the silence of Reggie through the day, I guessed it was still fresh in his mind too.

My head wasn't in the best space. It had been sunny in the morning, but as time went on, clouds started to gather around. For now, the setting sun shone through the windows, but I worried that it would disappear and then it would just be me, Reggie, and the rain. I felt like I was going to crack, like an egg, and everything was going to come out, gracefully or not, to Reggie.

I worried about us. If that fight...if this whole situation would change us so much that we'd never be able to go back to the way things were before. That was pretty much a given at this point, but I still hoped.

Just like the hours before, we were sitting in silence at the computer, a few sentences here and there. There had been a couple of minutes of nothing and then Reggie said, "Can you switch on the D.U.P. radio, Nita?"

I didn't answer verbally as I leaned forward and worked the computer to where it needed to go. I turned up the volume and we listened for what felt like forever to pretty much nothing. And then a couple of words that got my interest...by the time I tuned in, I missed half of it, but caught all I needed to know.

_"- held at the platform between the two islands."_

_"Both of them?"_

_"Abigail Walker and Eugene Sims, yes."_

My heartbeat quickened, pulsing in my neck. I felt the anxiety come over me for these people I had never met, but had impacted my life, Reggie's life, and Delsin's. I felt anxious for the people that had helped Delsin, in giving him powers and in helping to feel like he belonged in a way Reggie and I never could've.

I looked to Reggie, my mouth slightly open, breathing rapidly. "What do we -"

The phone rang. Delsin.

_"Reggie, Nita...Eugene and Fetch...they..."_

Myself, still a little panicked, was unable to answer.

Reggie was calm, almost in a weird way. He spoke into the phone with a level voice in contrast to Delsin's worried one. "I heard, I heard."

_"Hank and I -"_ I didn't have to look at Reggie to see the disapproval at the mention of Hank, and at Delsin's suddenly motivated voice. _"We've worked out a plan to storm the island and take out whatever D.U.P's are guarding them and -"_

"Delsin, I've been thinking..." Reggie interrupted. I was glad he did. Delsin was blinded by his need to get Fetch and Eugene safe that he wasn't thinking rationally. I expected Reggie to say something wise, but what he said was ever crazier than Delsin's plan. "There have been a lot of innocent people killed lately...'normal' people."

_"'Normal'? Jesus, Reg, we're not going back to that, are we?"_

I looked at Reggie with confusion. I felt the same as Delsin. It felt like Reggie was taking a step back from the progress he'd made. I wondered if it had to do with our fight we had.

"Look, I'm not sure I can help you add to that count, alright? Just to set a couple of Bio-Terrorists free."

"What are you talking about?" I said, to Reggie alone. I couldn't pay attention to Delsin or the phone or anything. I could only process - barely - what Reggie was saying. "What are you say - where is this coming from all of the sudden?"

_"Nita -"_

"I'm a cop," Reggie said, interrupting both of us. Without so much as a stern look to me, Reggie kept talking into the phone. He was ignoring me. "I'm supposed to _prevent_ this kind of thing. Just give me a call when it's over and we'll head back to Salmon Bay. And watch out for Hank, I don't trust him."

Without any goodbyes, Reggie hung up the phone. He started to fiddle around with the computer, like nothing had happened. I wasn't really willing to let all of that slide.

"Where did all of that come from, Reg?" I felt like I was having at out of body experience. He hadn't mentioned to me that he was feeling that way, thinking about the situation like that! "Why didn't you tell me?"

Reggie turned to me, looking pretty fed up already. "Because we've been so chatty the past couple of days."

I was offended, hurt, and willing to yell. "And whose fault is that?!" I stood from the chair, wanting some distance between the two of us. "You're the one that freaked out about me putting my life on the line and now you're willing to let Fetch and Eugene die because -"

"They're not going to die!" Reggie stood also, following me into the living room area, if you could call it that. He was trying to close me in.

"You don't know that!" I said, spinning around to face him. My thoughts were just as jumbled as my words. "What brought all of this on, anyway? Talking about going back to Salmon Bay, what about the tribe? What happened to saving the people we care about?"

"_Saving_?" Reggie scoffed. His neck was getting red, the harsh colour creeping up to his face. "We haven't been _saving_ anyone! Innocent people have been dying! I haven't saved a single person!" Het let out a big breath. After all that yelling, he seemed tired.

He didn't think he was helping. To Reggie, that was the worst thing he could do - not help.

My voice softened at the Reggie looking defeated. "That's not true. You've saved Delsin more times than I can count on both hands. You helped save Fetch, helped save Eugene. You've been helping save the tribe by being here, doing what you can. You want to give up now, after everything?" I walked a little closer to him. I decided against reaching out and touching him. "You want to call it a quits - lose Fetch, lose Eugene, Betty, the tribe, maybe even Delsin. Why do you want to go home now?"

The red from Reggie's face was gone, but the tiredness remained. He even looked a little sad, which made me feel like my heart was ripping into two. "Nothing and no one is worth losing you or Delsin," he said firmly, then sighing. "Too much destruction has happened already. I can't contribute anymore. We should get out now while we all still can."

"It's Augustine's destruction, and you can stop it by helping stop her now. You could save the innocent people that might die if we just pack up and go home." I really, honestly felt that way. If Delsin left, it was all over, for everyone. "You could help save Fetch and Eugene - who are people, not Bio-terrorists, not Conduits, Reggie..._people_. You want to save people? They need saving."

Reggie stared at me and I could see the words sinking in, the fears going away, but some hesitation remained. "And what if something happens? What if it all goes wrong, huh?"

"Then you would've tried," I said. As lame as it sounded, it was the truth, and I knew Reggie, deep in his heart, would always rather try and not succeed than never try at all. I added on to secure my thoughts. "This is an opportunity to make it all end, to help save Fetch and Eugene, all of Seattle, and our tribe back home. Don't you want to be the cop you are back home and just try?"

Reggie was only a couple feet away, still staring at me, unabashedly. He started to shake his head a little bit, worrying me for a millisecond, but I knew that look in his eyes. When he huffed the way he always did when I won an argument, I knew he had been convinced.

"I'm guessing you're coming and there's nothing I can do about it?"

"Good guess," I said to him, feeling the tug at my lips, the warmth in my heart as he took a couple of steps closer to me. He seemed so serious all of the sudden and my brows furrowed. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry, Nita, for not trusting your decisions," he breathed out, like he had been holding it in all day. He kept going. "I know you're a capable adult because I watched you grow up. I mean, I know that you're all grown up, and I know that you have been for years now." He looked me over for a second or two. "I guess I just...it's really sinking in now that all this has happened. They're your decisions and your choices and I have to respect them."

I felt even better, finally, at the reconciliation between us. I breathed out a sigh of relief, stepping closer to him as he got closer to me. "Thank you. And I'm sorry too. I know I have you to consider in my decisions."

Reggie was a huge part of my life. I could make my own decisions, but I knew I would've wanted Reggie to consider me in life-changing choices. I came to the conclusion I was willing to do the same.

Reggie even started to smile, just a little. "Well, thank you for considering me."

I reached out and pushed my pointer finger lightly into his chest. "You're very welcome," I said to him, a little too jolly, I had to laugh at myself. I felt Reggie's hand wrap around mine before it could fall back down. I looked up at him, suddenly a little nervous, as his face was within what I would've called 'kissing distance'. "Reggie?"

"I'm just gonna do this now..." Reggie said to me, voice quiet due to our being so close. He didn't look away from me once. "Before we head out there, and, um..." Even when he stuttered he seemed sure of himself. He continued to seem sure of himself as his neck craned down to bring his face even closer to mine. Our noses touched and then he pressed his lips against mine.

I was a little surprised...maybe even pleasantly. I wasn't sure for the first second or two, but then I knew, when I couldn't help but to wrap my arms around him...that this was right. My heart was beating so hard, I worried that Reggie could feel it against his chest, but I stayed focused on the task and hand, moving my lips to fit with Reggie's.

But Reggie was gone too soon. With one big step back from him, we were separated. He took a breath, paused for a second to make sure I wasn't going to slap him in the face or something, and then he nodded. "Should we go?"

My brows furrowed a little bit at the sudden dismissal, but I felt myself also smiling. "Are we not going to talk about the fact that you're obviously super into me?"

Reggie, of course, was annoyed by me pretty much instantly - even after a wonderful kiss. "Maybe later, yeah?" His voice was deep, commanding, and very attractive to me. Maybe it always had been and I was just realizing it now... "Nita?" He gestured to the door. "I'm going to leave. If you're coming, you're coming now."

I felt a pulse in my lips as I walked towards him, confusion gone, smile still present. "Okay, bossy pants."

Reggie rolled his eyes at me. He grabbed his gun, badge, and the binoculars from table, and then the two of us headed down the street. We made it in good time to a little pier across from the bridge between the two islands, where a massive slab of concrete had a lot of D.U.P.-looking arsenal surrounding it.

The sky had clouded over the sun and everything had turned grey, and even a little wet, even though it wasn't raining...yet.

The bridge between the two islands was massive and all darkened concrete. It had open platforms building up from the bottom, all connected by what looked like ladders until you got to the top. At least I thought they were ladders. Reggie was hogging the binoculars.

Reggie stood with a strong stance, binoculars held up to his face. He had been doing that for a couple minutes in silence and then he finally filled me in on the intel he was getting. "The dock on the far side is the only place not crawling with them."

"Whatever you think, Reg."

"A lot of guards up there. No Augustine, Fetch, or Eugene in sight so far."

"And Delsin?"

"Try right behind you."

I turned around so fast, I had to give myself a full second to adjust. "Delsin," I breathed out, the relief crashing over me in one big wave. I wrapped my arms around him squeezing tightly.

"Little Nita," he said quietly into my ear, squeezing me back just as tight. I could feel the warmth, the love, and I knew he was just as happy to see me as I was him. And then when we pulled apart from each other, he looked at Reggie. "Reg, what are you doing here?"

Reg pulled the binoculars away from his eyes to look at the ground and then at Delsin. "Look those are people over there. They need our help. Not Bio-terrorists, not Conduits...people."

Reggie glanced and me and I stared back at him, eyebrows raised. That brave, inspiring line sounded a little familiar...but I decided to let him have it.

"Well, thank you," Delsin said to him and then looked to me. "Both of you."

There was a sound - a sort of whooshing that came to my ears, reminding me of a certain day, standing in the middle of the road going through Salmon Bay, where a D.U.P. van had crashed.

Hank Daughtry was standing next to me suddenly, still in his all orange get-up, still as intimidating before. His eyes bore into mine for a second. "A pretty lady," he said, voice just as scraggly and southern as I remembered. He looked at Reggie. "And the cop. What're they doin' here?"

Reggie was also intimidating, though, and he stared at Hank without a waiver as Delsin explained.

"It's my best friend and my brother, okay?" Delsin noticed the tension, probably because it was impossible not to, between the cop and the Conduit. "He's here for me, so..." He looked at Reggie. "What're you thinking?"

"I've been doing some recon." Reggie cleared his throat, turned to the subject at hand and pointed out to another dock. "Our best bet's the dock on the far side, it's less exposed. I figured you two could do your smoke..." Reggie _really _hated saying powers. "Gift -"

"Thank you," Delsin said quickly.

"And draw their attention out front. I'll commandeer a boat and me and Nita will go in during the distraction."

Hank had a problem. "Why you goin' in first?"

Reggie scoffed ever so slightly. His eyes went from me to Delsin before landing on Hank. He took a step toward him, obviously unafraid as well as unimpressed with the attitude. "Because I'm a cop, which means I can commandeer a boat and it's legal. _You _steal a boat..." A moment of tense silence. "I'm gonna haul your ass in."

Delsin and I watched as Hank took a step forward also. We both watched, but only Delsin had the courage to speak up and say, "Oh, he'll do it too." He then leaned forward to get in between them, saying to Reggie, "Um, so we'll see you inside, right?"

Reggie looked at all of us, took a mature step back and said, "Yeah. We'll see you inside." He walked through Delsin and Hank. "Stay safe, will ya?"

I grabbed onto Delsin's arm tightly, looking him in the eyes. "And that's an order," I joked, making Delsin crack a smile. I squeezed his arm one last time and then I followed after Reggie. Once I looked back and could no longer see them, I said, "You just get bossier and bossier, you know."

"I think you mean tougher and tougher."

I walked quickly, keeping up in time with him. I looked at his profile. Even before the romantic moment, I admired Reggie. I did even more so now, which was a little annoying. I didn't want to make his head too big, but..."I'm glad you're doing this - we're doing this. I'm glad you changed your mind."

"If we live through this, you should become a motivational speaker."

"If we live through this -" I tried to think of what I wanted, but just something nice and simple and realistic. "You better take me on a date or something."

Reggie kept his fast pace up, but he wasn't able to hide the smirk on his face from me. "Fine, Nita." He turned to look at me for just a small second to say, "It's a deal - a date. It's a date."

'Commandeering' a boat was easy enough, especially with a flash of Reggie's badge, and a little charisma on my part, if I was going to brag. Pretty soon after leaving the dock, we were on the water. At some point, it had started to rain. It was coming down straight, but kind of heavy. The whole sky was clouded over and darkening, but the platform was lit up brighter than anything in Seattle, casting a big light on anything around it.

I looked down at the water. It was so dark and looked so cold. I imagined you wouldn't be able to see anything even just a foot from the surface.

I didn't know if I was cold or nervous - felt like maybe both.

I just wanted Fetch and Eugene safe. I wanted Delsin safe. I wanted Reggie safe. Most of all, I wanted Augustine gone. That would've put everything else into effect.

Reggie turned off the engine and the rumble of the boat came to a slow. The boat drifted toward the edge of the very bottom of the towering platform. Reggie hopped out of the boat and then helped me. Both of us had our backs against a huge pillar when Reggie held out his gun to me. "I know you know how to use it..." He sounded like he was going to go into a big speech, but he just said. "You know the rules."

"No killing," I said quickly. It hurt me to even say it, but Reggie wanted affirmation. "Wounding and distracting only."

This was a leap for Reggie and I couldn't imagine what was going through his brain, but I was already here and I needed the protection. He knew I was a good shot, from him teaching me alone, but also from hunting. And he knew that I knew how to defend myself. After reading a lot of articles of women getting kidnapped, I learned a couple of things. Reggie _knew _I could do this and he still looked hesitant.

"I'm gonna be okay, Reggie," I said to him, back still against the harsh, cold concrete. I looked him in his dark, worried eyes. "Everything will be fine." My eyes flickered down to his lips for just a millisecond and then I couldn't stop thinking about kissing him. I leaned forward, kissing him softly and quickly.

When we pulled apart, he said, "I hope you're right." His head suddenly whipped the opposite way at the sound of approaching footsteps. I had never seen Reggie move so fast - his elbow slamming into the helmet of the D.U.P. guard. He was down on the ground in a second.

"Jesus, Reg," I said, unable to stop myself.

Reggie leaned down, picking up something I couldn't see. When he turned around, he was holding a black and yellow _bazooka_ in his two hands. "This'll do." He seemed less nervous, less worried, and a lot more satisfied with that than the gun he handed over to me.

With the newfound confidence and the literal bazooka, we made our way up and up, silently and stealthily. It seemed Hank and Delsin had already gotten here before us, due to all of the subdued D.U.P. officers sprawled out on the grounds.

As I pushed up the ladder and pulled myself over the cold, wet ledge of one of the high platforms, I heard voices in the distance, actually speaking - the first sign of life that wasn't D.U.P's.

"It's Delsin," Reggie whispered hastily to me. "And Augustine."

I looked across the way, at the other end. Augustine had her back turned to us, but the image of her distinct navy, trench coat-type outfit and auburn hair were burned into my brain back from Salmon Bay. It was her. And then there was Delsin, concrete wrapped around his hands and feet. And then there was Hank...nowhere in sight.

Reggie stood up straight, gritting his teeth as he pulled the bazooka over his shoulder. He closed one eye, looking like he was aiming.

My heart leaped. "Reg...Reggie, don't. Delsin's over there, you could -"

The sound of the bazooka going off felt like it shook everything, or maybe that was just me. I fell to the ground next Reggie - who was still standing - with my eyes widened. I scrambled up to look at the scene. The smoke cleared quickly enough for me to see Delsin, concrete still on the hands, but not the feet. Augustine wasn't anywhere - good or bad sign, I didn't know.

"You could've hit me!" Delsin yelled from across the way, his voice coming in quieter, but just as angry as if we were standing right next to him.

"Yeah, that's payback for blasting me with the angels," Reggie yelled back. "Now, come on, get up. Get over here and we'll get those cuffs off of you." All of us looked at the D.U.P's rushing down to the commotion. "This way!" Reggie yelled again. "We'll cover you."

The handgun felt small, but heavy in my hands. I held it up, elbows locked and I started to shoot. At first, I was aiming at their feet, at the ground surrounding them, just like a distraction, just like Reggie asked of me. But when I felt the bullets whizzing past me...these people wanted to kill me. I was trying to avoid hurting them at all costs and they wanted me dead.

I started to aim for the parts of the body Reggie had taught me as what he called 'you'll live' spots; lower parts of the arms, lower parts of the leg, hands, and feet. I noticed that they had the super important areas heavily guarded anyway; torso, head, etcetera. I was aiming for the non-lethal places, but the armour was bulky and efficient. I was almost glad to not really be hurting anyway.

Augustine's guards also had her concrete power, which we were having to dodge. As long as I stayed out of their sight, I was good.

My shooting was definitely a good distraction at least. Between the shooting and the covering, I could see Delsin making his way closer to me and Reggie.

We all even managed to have a conversation, yelling at each other over the shooting and the rain and the distance.

"What the hell happened?"

"It was a trap, man," Delsin explained to us. "Hank led us out here so Augustine could kill us."

I knew Reggie's response before he even said it, so I looked over my shoulder and Reggie and his bazooka and I said, "Reggie, don't say anything."

Too late.

"I knew it! I _told _you."

"Why would he do that?" I yelled out, hoping for an answer from literally anyone.

"Because he's a bad guy, and bad guys do bad things," Reggie said, saying it loud enough so that Delsin could've heard. Reggie was too angry to be proud of himself for being right, but not too angry to scold Delsin, which was what it turned into. "I know you have super powers -" Too angry to not say the word powers. "But it wouldn't hurt you to listen to your brother every once in a while."

Reggie grabbed my arm and the two of us ran up to the highest part of the bridge. It plateaued out flat, or at least sort of. There were large concrete slabs everywhere, acting almost as ramps, it seemed. Reggie and I headed up to one, standing on the flattened part at the top. We looked down at the commotion, the bazooka still sitting comfortably on Reggie's shoulder as he stood atop a chest that was full of god knows what.

I saw Delsin round a corner. I waved wildly. "Delsin!" I yelled out to him. "Get up here!" I felt like I could barely hear my own voice over my adrenaline. It felt like every time my heart beat, that was a second gone by, and that was really fast. Time flew and the pounding in my head came to a slow as Delsin approached Reggie and I.

"Sorry, out of grenades," Reggie said to Delsin, not yelling anymore. "We're gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way."

Delsin looked down at his concrete handcuffs, worriedly asking, "What do you mean?"

"Uh..." Reggie gestured to the chest he had been standing on top of. It was about chest height for the two of them. "Put your hands up here."

I watched as Reggie pulled the bazooka over his head. I looked at Delsin. "Stay still," I said to my wide-eyed friend.

Reggie brought the hefty bazooka down onto the concrete with enough force to split it open, effectively freeing Delsin's hands. He ditched the bazooka on top of the chest, saying a very Reggie-like, "There you go."

Delsin shook his hands free of any extra rubble and then they attached to my arms. He looked down at me. "You okay? You good, huh?"

I nodded. "Yeah, fine." I looked Delsin over. Thanks to his Conduit abilities, he was pretty much unscathed, if just a little dirty and wet. Oh, and betrayed. "I can't believe Hank led you into a trap."

"I knew we couldn't trust him," Reggie felt the need to say, even though he had already made himself pretty clear.

Delsin, like someone who was done hearing it, said back, "Okay, you were right. If I had listened to you, we wouldn't even be here."

Reggie looked like he was ready to let it go. "Well, as long as we are here..." He looked at me. "We should should save those two -" He caught himself before he could backtrack again. "People."

I was proud of Reggie, but I could only pay attention to Delsin, or rather the thing he was running towards.

It was three massive slabs of concrete, thin and tall, probably a couple of stories in the least. They were floating, evenly spaced apart, rotating around in a circle, encasing, protecting, and keeping us away from what it held in the middle; Fetch and Eugene. They were trapped in concrete themselves, floating helplessly amongst the concrete. There was an orangey glow casted on them, making them easy to see.

It was the most trappiest trap I had ever seen. Nonetheless, Delsin was going to get them down.

"How are you gonna get us out of here?" One of them asked - Eugene. From what I could see between the concrete, he was thin with big glasses on his face. His voice sounded so young, kind of soft, and innocent. I felt for him.

"I'm gonna have to shoot you down," Delsin responded. Fair enough.

"Sounds like a plan 'copman' would come up with!" That must've been Fetch. She was the easier one to spot, with the brightest pink hair I had ever seen. Her voice was deep, but in an attractive way, and a little rough. It fit her in someway, especially with that being the first sentence I ever heard from her.

"Actually, I'm starting to like 'copman'," Reggie said back. Just like with Delsin and me, he wouldn't ever take attitude.

"Why shooting?" Eugene asked. He seemed wary. "Why not...anything but shooting?"

"We'll get you out!" I said to them. It was probably useless, but I figured any kind of encouragement might've been soothing.

"Is that Nita? The sidekick I actually like?" Fetch was growing on me by the second, I would admit.

"Hi, Nita," Eugene said loudly, voice just as shaky as every word before. Maybe that was just the way it sounded.

I looked up at the two of them, holding Reggie's gun up and aiming. "We'll figure this out." I started to shoot, not at them, but the concrete, seeing a crack here and there. I just kept shooting and shooting. I felt like I was making a little bit of progress, crack after crack around Eugene's feet and then he started to fall, hitting the ground with a hard thud.

I rushed forward, dropping the gun to the ground and landing on my knees in front of Eugene. "Are you okay?" I looked at his face up close for the first time. He looked scared, just like how I was sure my face also looked.

"I -" Through his rain-covered glasses I could see his eyes shift to behind me. "Look out!"

"Oh, crap!" Fetch said. "D, watch -"

Fetch couldn't get the rest out. The three concrete pieces surrounding her closed up, full trapping her inside at the same time that I saw Augustine standing about a yard away, looking like she was going to kill.

I felt the concrete around me shift and I saw it come up around Eugene's feet. "No!" The only thing I could've thought to do was reach out and pushed down on the concrete. My mind was going a mile a minute, I wasn't thinking, and I felt the concrete wrap around my hands. It was cold and uncomfortable, squishing my hands together in a way that made me cry out in pain.

"Nita!"

I looked at Reggie, the concrete around his feet attaching him to the ground. I looked around frantically for Augustine and then for Delsin, who was running to Reggie's side, looking prepared and determined to make it stop.

Eugene's hands wrapped around the concrete surrounding my own, like he was going to do something, but the movement above caught our attention.

The concrete hovering over all of us, the one with Fetch still trapped inside, came down onto us, splitting the ground we were laying on into so many pieces. It was so loud in my ears that it disoriented me...so blurred and confusing around me...when I felt myself sliding, I didn't know what to do. Even if I was able to grab something, I would not have known what to grab.

I was so lost, hands still painfully squished up against each other, I couldn't think...

I felt arms wrapped around me and then the ground disappear quickly after. I felt the burn in my throat as I tried to cough the dust away. The second I opened my eyes, I saw how far I was from everything, but I could still see Reggie and Delsin clear as day, dangling from the edge of the platform.

I lurched forward, but felt a hand around my mouth.

"Wait!" It was Eugene, whispering behind me. "We don't want to give ourselves away."

I couldn't respond. I could only watch as Delsin held onto the platform with one hand and Reggie with the other. Reggie's feet were still encased in the concrete, only adding to the weight. And then it got worse - the concrete started to creep up Reggie's body.

"Eugene..." I said against Eugene's hand.

"I can't do anything right now or else August will know."

It made sense, but not to me in that moment. It didn't make sense to me when I was watching someone I loved about to fall into the freezing, Seattle ocean below with concrete attached to him like an anchor.

"Eugene."

"Wait. Just wait."

An awful feeling - the worst feeling in the world...and then it got worse; Reggie started to fall.

"No!" Delsin's screamed out, long and drawled, and pained. That seemed to fill the whole air around us, maybe even all of Seattle. It was all I could hear in my head as I watched.

I couldn't look away from Reggie. I couldn't feel anything for a couple of seconds - absolutely nothing. It was like my heart had stopped and the blood pumping through my veins ceased. I was numb.

I couldn't look away as Reggie plummeted towards the dark water.

And I could barely believe my eyes when I saw one of Eugene's angels swoop in and grab Reggie at the very last second, probably just an inch from the water that the angels supposedly hated so much.

The feeling returned to my body as I let out a breath, feeling my heart beat again, the blood pumping. I leaned back against Eugene and said, "Thank you." It was quiet and breathy.

"You're welcome," he said softly and just as quiet.

Now that I had the feeling in my body back, I was feeling everything. The pain in my hands only intensified and there was a new pain - an even worse pain that was in my head...on my head...somewhere around my head? And my leg...

I felt Eugene behind me, but it was like he was far away somehow. A darkness started at the edges of my vision, creeping in slowly as I felt my throat starting to close up. I couldn't stop it. It was only a second or two before everything went dark.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from 'Infamous Second Son' pls dont sue

* * *

8...

My throat was hurting at first, but that was just the first thing. As my eyes opened and I came to, everything started to hurt. My vision was still clearing so I used my hands to feel around. I was laying on a bed with scratchy sheets, but the air was clear and clean, not like Seattle. The first thing I saw was an open window and beautiful, green trees.

"Nita?"

On my other side, there was Anna. I turned over to her, feeling the soreness in my neck for only a moment. When I saw her, the Longhouse, and a lot of the tribe scattered around, I wanted to cry of happiness. "Anna."

She looked like she was feeling the same thing. She leaned forward and hugged me - a feeling so good and welcome to me. When she leaned away, she sat down on the chair at the side of the bed and grabbed my hand. "How are you feeling?"

I squeezed her hand and sighed, but couldn't not smile a little. "A little sore," I said honestly, with a small chuckle. "My leg kind of hurts..." I pulled the covers away. I was wearing a pair of my own pyjama shorts, weirdly enough, but the thing that caught my attention was the gauze covering almost all of my left thigh.

"You had quite the cut there, Nita," Anna said, pulling the covers back over me. She looked at my face, just above my eyebrow. "But if that's what's hurting the most, then the medication must be working."

"What?"

Anna held up a mirror to me. I saw the bags under the eyes, the slight paleness in my skin, as well as the small, square bandage above my eyebrow. She looked at me with her sad eyes. "Stitches, but the doctor said it won't scar really bad. It'll fade over time."

I held out my right hand, noticing the splint on my ring finger. "Is this the last of it?"

"A couple other scrapes and bruises, but you got out pretty good. That Eugene kid -"

"Eugene was here?" I asked quickly. I even looked around for him, but she was talking about him like he was gone. "When? I mean, how long ago?"

"A couple of hours ago. You and Reggie were both unconscious -"

Reggie.

"Reggie." My eyes darted around again, desperately looking around for Reggie or any sign of him at all.

"He's okay," Anna told me, just as quickly as I asked. She grabbed my hand again, a small, calming gesture. "He's okay. He hasn't waken up yet, and he's a little banged up, but no concrete and no life-threatening injuries."

I would have to remember to thank Eugene later with some sort of grand gesture to measure up to saving my life and Reggie's. I wondered where Fetch was, if she got out, and then I could only think about Delsin.

"Have you heard from Delsin? Is he here?"

"Nita..." She held my hand in both of hers. Her sad eyes intensified and then she said maybe the worst thing I had ever heard. "They said on the news that the bridge went down. They said the Brooke Augustine was the only survivor."

"No..." I shook my head. "No, that can't be true."

"I'm so sorry, Nita."

"No." I wasn't insane, I knew it wasn't true. The feeling I felt when I saw Reggie hanging from the platform and the feeling when Eugene had saved him...it was a like a connection of some sort. When you spend your whole life with the same people...I just had this wild idea that we were all connected...Reggie, Delsin and me. I could feel that Delsin was alive.

"Nita -"

"Where's my phone?" I tossed the blanket from me and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I slid off of it. The second my feet touched the ground, my leg buckled and I groaned in pain, turning back to the bed and using it to hold myself up. "Shit."

Anna moved around the bed to grab me and try and put me back in the bed. "Nita, you should really -"

I walked around her - or limped, maybe - to get away, effectively avoiding her grasp. I walked further into the Longhouse, past the beds of the same tribe members I had left here back at the beginning of all of this.

"Nita."

When I saw Betty, I let out a big breath and then tensed. I only did that when I was trying not to cry. I walked toward her slowly, the pain shooting up my leg. When I made it to the chair next to her bed, I fell down into it. I grabbed her hands that she held out to me and then I couldn't hold it in any longer. "Betty..."

"Oh, honey." When my head fell down onto her bed, she moved her hand over my hair. Her hand was light and soft and soothing, which only made me cry more somehow. "I'm so glad you're here. I'm so glad you're safe."

I felt like I needed to let it out all, but I didn't want to overwhelm Betty. She was in more pain than I was and she didn't need my stress put on her, so I pulled my head up, wiped my eyes and tried to smile. "I'm glad I'm here too. How are you feeling?"

Betty looked like she wanted to talk about me, but I knew she saw my face and that I didn't want to, so she just answered my question. "There have been better days. TV's not all that great today. I've read all the magazines."

"We can play cards later if you want."

Betty laughed, quietly, weakly, but she still laughed. "How about you focus on resting up?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. I looked around. "I haven't seen -"

Reggie was laying in a bed that looked almost identical to mine. With his eyes closed, he looked peaceful - a look I don't know if I really ever saw from him. It was nice, but there was a catch. He had red scratches all over his face and a couple of bruises. The blankets were up to his neck so I couldn't see the rest of him, but I imagined it was the same or worse.

Betty grabbed me by the chin, turning my face back to hers. She was stern when she said, "Go back to bed, okay? If he wakes up, you will know about it." She leaned back into her bed, eyes closing tiredly for a moment. "Please."

"Okay," I agreed quickly. "Okay, I will." I squeezed her hand and then stood, trying with everything in me to not look behind me at Reggie as I walked back to my own bed. Every step was me feeling more exhausted and eventually, once I made it to the bed, I was tired enough to stop thinking and actually get some rest.

...

When I woke up again, the sun coming in from the outside was gone and the windows were closed. The air was filled not with fresh air but with a mix of all kinds of scents; candles. There were candles scattered throughout the Longhouse, as well as the standing lamps that looked like they were from the nineties. Both light sources casted a yellow-ish, orange-ish glow. It was nice.

I had that privacy screen on wheels thing in front of my bed, curtesy of Anna, even though I never asked for it. It was a little see-through and so I focused on watching the Longhouse from behind the screen, seeing not a whole lot of movement.

I decided that, whether Betty and Anna wanted me to or not, that I was going to get up and check on Reggie. What was it going to hurt? I felt even more sore than I had before falling asleep, but it had to get worse before it got better, right?

I limped my way to the privacy screen, peering around one end and -

"Where do you think you're going?"

I gasped, catching my foot on my other foot and wailing my arms to stay upright. My leg wasn't helping with stability much, but it all worked out when Delsin wrapped his arms around me. I looked up at him. "You're here," I said to him, voice shaking. I did _not _want to cry, but it seemed acceptable. I wrapped my arms around him too, pressing my face to his chest. "You're alive."

Delsin rested his chin on top of my head. I could feel my hair moved when he sighed and his heartbeat slow. He was always a good hugger. "It's done. It's all over."

I pulled away, grabbing the end of the bed for stability, eyes widened, heart beating. "You - did you - Augustine...?"

"Betty was my first stop," Delsin said to me, like music to my ears. "You were still asleep, so I went on to everyone else. No more concrete, Nita, in anyone, or anywhere." The look on his face was pure relief.

I shook my head, still processing. "How did you..."

Delsin sat down on the bed, probably exhausted from everything that had happened. I didn't even know if I wanted to know absolutely everything. I needed to know the essentials and that was what Delsin gave me. "It took all three of us - Fetch, Eugene, and me to take her down, but she's done, locked up somewhere where she'll never be able to hurt anyone again." His mouth tightened for a second. "She thought she was helping our kind by taking them and locking them away somewhere...'safe', she called it. She thought the 'powerless' people still had their pitchforks sharpened."

I hadn't seen the news. I wondered how people reacted.

"Well, did they?"

Delsin shook his head, the corners of his lips turning up a little. "They were cheering, Nita." He looked at me, a look in his eyes I hadn't seen in a little while; just pure astonishment. "For _us_. They wanted Augustine locked away just as bad as we did." He started to nod slowly. "This can actually happen; 'normals' and Conduits coexisting. The Conduits being imprisoned at Curdun Cay are being released and...I think it's actually going to happen. It's a new age."

I sat down next to him on the bed. "That _you_ helped start, Del." I put my arm over his shoulders, shaking him a little. "You might actually have to start practicing your autograph after all. Fetch and Eugene too. Where are they, anyway?"

"They're still in Seattle."

"I need Eugene's number."

Delsin raised his eyebrows at me, seeming to consider something suggestive. "I don't know if I saw you two ending up together, but the guy usually _does_ get the girl in the end, doesn't he?"

My arm fell from his shoulders, just so I could elbow him in the stomach. "To _thank _him, Delsin, for saving me, for saving Reggie." My eyes widened again. "Reggie! Have you seen Reggie?"

Delsin being no where near as frantic as me answered the question pretty quickly. "He woke up before you, sleepyhead."

"What?" I stood and Delsin quickly stood with me, grabbing my arms to stabilize me. I tried to shake him off as I worked my way to where I knew Reggie's bed was and it was empty. I looked to Delsin for any sort of help whatsoever. "Where is he?"

Reggie's footsteps from his heavy boots approached. When he came around the corner, he was walking around, buttoning the buttons on his Sheriff uniform already. He was standing straight and strong, but it looked like it was taking a lot of effort to do that. He still had scratches and bruises on his face and neck. Still, it obviously wasn't stopping him from getting back to his duties.

"What are you -" he started to say to me, then looking to Delsin, lowering his voice and asking angrily, "What is she doing out of bed?"

I imagined Delsin giving a very Delsin-like, overdramatic shrug behind me and I walked forward and towards Reggie. "You're awake. You're okay." Once I got close enough, I wrapped my arms around him. Just like with Delsin, the hug was comforting and much appreciated, especially once he started hugging me back.

His strong arms were around me, making me feel warm and safe. His lips were near my ear when he whispered, "You're supposed to be resting." He put his hands on my shoulders, pushing me away to look me in the eyes. He opened his mouth to say something and then caught sight of the bandage on my face. His warm hand cupped my cheek.

I looked him over too. His warm, brown eyes looked into mine and I felt like I could take a clear breath. Reggie was okay and Delsin was okay. Fetch and Eugene were fine. Seattle was safe. Augustine was gone. Everything, somehow, had aligned.

"How are you feeling?" Reggie asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, just fine."

"Really?" Reggie asked me, eyebrows raised. He looked like he wasn't believing it. "Just fine?" He suddenly let go of me, making me put all of my weight onto my leg. When I seethed in pain and teetered on the spot a little, Reggie grabbed me again. "Wanna try that again?'

"You proved your point," I said to him, just a little annoyed. I gripped his arm tightly, afraid for him to let go of me again. I looked down at some of the still undone buttons on his shirt. "Justice never sleeps, right?"

That was something Reggie had said to me one time - extremely cheesy, I had laughed for a long time about it. I still was not ready to let it go.

Reggie hated me bringing it up, probably because he knew just how cheesy the line was. He tried to pretend he didn't hear it as his hands made there way from my shoulders to my waist. He started to turn me to face the direction going back to my bed. "You need to rest."

I resisted, pinching him in the arm. It didn't hurt him, but he still turned to me to tell me to quit it. I took that opportunity to leaned forward, pressing all my weight into him for his support to be able to kiss him.

Reggie's held onto to me to keep me steady, kissing me back, to my delight.

"Whoa."

I pulled back from Reggie.

Shit. Delsin.

Delsin looked a little pale in the face and a little wide-eyed. He raised his hand, pointing a finger at me and then moving it to Reggie and then back to me. "Did you two...I mean, have you guys...?"

Reggie took a small step away from me, holding out a stern hand. "Delsin, just listen for a second."

That was confirmation enough for Delsin, whose hand came back to himself, pressing against his chest. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

I chuckled and watched the dramatic scene unfold. "A little over the top, don't you think, Del?"

Delsin looked at me like I was the crazy one. "A little over the -" He scoffed, eyes shifting back and forth from me and Reggie quickly. "You guys didn't think to tell me that, oh I don't know, my best friend -" He gestured to me and then to Reggie. "And my _brother _were..." Delsin stopped there, seeming to continue the sentence in his mind judging by the disturbed look on his face.

Reggie came up with a valid excuse. "Okay, but you were a little busy, brother."

"A little busy, you know, taking down Augustine..." I said, trying to really butter Delsin up. I knew he was just shocked and that, in time, this was not going to be a big deal, but to make it as smooth a process as possible..."Saving Seattle, redeeming Conduits, you know."

Delsin pointed a finger at me briefly. "I appreciate the flattery, but I still wish both of you - either of you - would've let a guy know." Even know, just a minute or two after figuring it out, Delsin was calming down. In fact, he started to look less surprised as the seconds went on, like he knew this was the new reality. "I'm not doing the third-wheel thing, by the way."

"Don't worry, Del," I assured Delsin. I had been so desperate for things to be normal again, I wasn't about to mess it all up. "We're home. We're _together_. Doesn't it feel like old times, just...better?"

We had our Salmon Bay back and our tribe, and even though Delsin had changed, I had the most comforting feeling that things really were going to go back to as close to normal as possible. Looking at Delsin and Reggie, I knew they felt that too.

Reggie looked at me, his hands on my waist tightening for a second.. "Close your eyes, Delsin," he said to his brother, still looking at me. Delsin did turn around, but not without an annoyed groan. Reggie ignored him, a gentle hand moving to the back of my neck and guiding our faces together to kiss again. My arms went around Reggie's neck as I felt the warmth between us.

"Is it over yet?" Delsin peered warily over his shoulder.

I pulled away from Reggie to laugh, hands still attached at the back of his neck. The air was light and the laughter came easily from all three of us.

It felt like it was all over. Everyone was safe. Everything possible felt so much better without all of the dread constantly in the back of my mind. It felt like I could breathe, like I could not worry for a long time.

And despite Delsin's new _powers_ and new outlook, it felt like there was still going to be some spray painting, arguing with Reggie, and causing some innocent trouble around town. All of that was just now going to involve some smoke, maybe neon or video, the occasional concrete, as well as two other recently befriended Conduits...

It was like the good old days...part two.

That sounded good to me.


End file.
